Falling Up to Heaven
by R.G. Waffles
Summary: He was only trying to find salvation after surving an accident that left him with the loss of a family member and the loss of a limb. Salvation. What he got was a world of twists, a wild ride into darkness, and karma chasing after his every move. No Yaoi.
1. Open your Eyes

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto, my manga would sell better.

**Author's Note:** Holy batch of cookies. Is this a story? Yes it is. This is my long-promised story that I have started typing since January. As a matter-of-fact, I'm STILL not finished with it.

But I've started updating anyway. Because I promised lizuchiha I would have it up before New Year's.

Alright, I REALLY wish you would **read this chapter through** before you judge it. I personally am really proud of the way this thing has turned out. You have to admit that the plot is original.

But stop listening to me. Read and enjoy. It's a rollercoaster of drama. Hooray.

No need to review. Review only if you feel the need to, because otherwise, your words won't be sincere, will they?

**Chapter 1  
**…**:::Open your Eyes:::…  
****Snow Patrol**

"Let's do this, Itachi."

Brother and brother stood in the dark room, their only source of light the moon that shone through the crack of the wavering curtains. It illuminated the face of the clown-shaped nightlight, turning its innocent grin into a menacing, snarling, foaming from the mouth –

"Are you sure you're ready, Sasuke?"

Focus!

"Yes, I'm – ah! Too tight!" Sasuke couldn't help but squirm to get into a better position. "Stop, you're hurting me!"

"Sorry . . ."

Uchiha Itachi loosened the crimson blanket he had fastened around his younger brother's neck, who visibly relaxed.

"Better?"

Sasuke nodded his underwear-bearing head and grinned, flashing his older brother the peace symbol with two little fingers. Clad only in pajama shorts much too big, he grabbed his flashlight from his bed and said,

"Let's go get the Boogeyman."

_(Did you just smile?)_

Itachi smirked and grabbed his own flashlight. Sasuke had been having nightmares that kept the entire Uchiha estate up at night and so Itachi had volunteered to help Sasuke face his fears. They were going into the closet tonight to stop the Boogeyman once and for all.

"Wait, we have to make sure everything's good to go," he said.

"Okay, okay!" said Sasuke impatiently. "Flashlights, check?"

Itachi waved his around. "Check."

"Capes, check?"

Itachi fixed his table cloth. "Check."

"Boogeyman-repellant headgear, check?"

Um . . .

"Itachi!" whined Sasuke, stamping his feet for emphasis. "You can't help me fight the Boogeyman if you don't have the Boogeyman-repellant head gear thingy!"

"But it looks ri_di_culous!" retorted Itachi. "I already agreed to wear the cape!"

Before he knew what was happening, Sasuke had jumped from the bed, screeching like a banshee. In his hands was a pair of brightly-patterned . . . underwear.

"Sasuke!"

The boy managed to crash into Itachi, successfully pinning him to the ground. They struggled for a bit, but in the end, Itachi sat up with a new hat, a disgruntled expression, and Sasuke cheering happily.

_(You __**did **__smile!)_

"Boogeyman-repellant headgear, check?" he chirped.

". . . Check . . ." grumbled Itachi. He adjusted the underwear so the crotch _didn't_ cover his eyes. Oh, Sasuke was going to pay for this. He stood up, straightened his night shirt, and turned to his mentioned little brother, who was shifting from foot to foot nervously.

". . . Maybe you should go first," he said hesitantly.

"Alright, but when I call for help, you'd better come, got it?"

"Good luck!" the younger whispered. "Don't forget to shine the flashlight on his nose! That's his weak spot!"

Itachi smirked once more. "Thanks for the tip," he said before turning around to open the closet.

"Wait!"

Sasuke's short arms were suddenly around his midriff, squeezing for dear life.

"I love you, 'tachi," he whispered.

And though he dare not show it, Itachi smiled softly in the shadows of the darkness.

"I love you, too, Sasuke."

Minutes later, Itachi was shouting for help from within the closet.

"Sasuke, come quick!" he screamed. "I think one of its tentacles has my ankles!"

Sasuke bit his lip and shifted from one foot to another.

_What should I do? What should I do?!_

His eyes darted around nervously before landing on the closet. His brother was in trouble! He had promised to help him! Swallowing his fear and puffing out his chest, he turned on his flashlight and ran forward.

"I'm coming, Itachi!"

_(Mother! Mother, he's smiling!)_

He thrust the door to the closet wider and shone the light inside the darkness. Itachi's figure was writhing around, knocking over several books and piles of junk Sasuke refused to throw out. There was even a ballerina tutu lurking in the corner . . . not that he ever _used_ it . . .

"I'll save you!"

But he sounded a _lot_ braver than he felt. His hands were shaking as he held the flashlight out and randomly waved it around in hopes that it hit its target. One of his shaking hands covered his eyes.

The room was suddenly dead quiet. Sasuke peeled his fingers from his eyes warily. When there was no sight of his older brother, he gasped.

_Oh my gosh! I killed Itachi!_

And then . . .

"You did it, Sasuke!"

Itachi's eyes were suddenly staring into his, his hands on Sasuke's smaller shoulders.

"You've killed the Boogeyman! He's gone! You did it!"

It took a few seconds for Sasuke to fully comprehend his achievement, but when he did, the boy grinned widely and thrust a fist into the air.

"Alright!" he exclaimed. "I did it! No more Boogeyman! No more nightmares!"

_(Sasuke? Sasuke, can you hear me?)_

As he watched his younger brother celebrate, Itachi stealthily hid the stuffed snake he had been wrestling with behind his back.

Hey, what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him, right?

_BAM!_

Sasuke watched Itachi grow older in the blink of an eye. Older Itachi was now hunched over a desk, piles and piles of papers surrounding his figure. A single light was on in the room. The curtains, drawn closed, hid the pitch black of night in its shadows. Everyone in the house was asleep.

Or so Itachi thought.

There was a tap on his shoulder. Turning around with weary eyes, he spotted his brother, older, his figure sharper. He held a white canvas beneath one arm and a set of paints in his hand.

"Itachi," whispered Sasuke, so that their parents would not wake. "Paint for me."

"Not tonight, Sasuke," Itachi replied with a sigh, turning around once more. "I've got too much work tonight."

"You have too much work every night!"

Nonetheless, Sasuke left his brother in peace.

_(I swear I'm not lying, sir. I saw it!)_

Looking back at his brother, Itachi saw him asleep, the canvas discarded at his bedside, the paints strewn across the floor, and the most serene expression placed on his pallid face.

Itachi painted that night.

_BAM!_

The scene suddenly changed again.

He was falling . . .

. . . Falling . . .

_(Sasuke, please, just open your eyes!)_

Who was that?

"Itachi?" Sasuke called out to the darkness that pressed itself against his eyes.

The wind was whistling around him as he fell into oblivion. Oh look, it's the ground.

"Hello, Sasuke," said the ground. "Come closer so I can meet you. We'll become the best of friends, I'm sure. While I'm at it, why don't I give you a massage . . . maybe even a complete body makeover?"

_(Open your eyes!)_

_WHAM!_

Sasuke tried to lurch forward, screams gushing from his throat and cold sweat breaking out over his skin. All he felt was pain. Aching, unbearable pain and nothing else. Someone in the distance was sobbing hysterically.

_Where the hell . . .?_

He could vaguely feel powerful hands covering his chest, forcing him back down to the ground – no, bed? He opened eyes he didn't know he had closed and saw blurs and white.

_When did I get here . . .?_

"Sasuke!"

He turned his head painfully towards the source of the voice. A dull throbbing in his head blurred the image of the person completely. Sasuke tried to bring his hands up to rub his eyes, but they felt like heavy weights on fragile sticks of bones and if he moved them, they would break the sticks.

"Sasuke? Can you hear me? Can you _see_ me?"

Ah, that was quite the familiar voice . . . he had heard it a few moments ago. What was his name . . .?

The vision cleared slightly.

"Itachi?"

Easier thought than said.

There was his brother, older from his previous – dream? –, disheveled, and eyes showing so much emotion that Sasuke immediately knew something was horribly wrong.

"What . . .?" He couldn't continue. There was something wrong with his voice. It wasn't coming out the way he wanted it to, as if he hadn't used it in a long period of time.

The crying was getting louder and on Sasuke's nerves. He turned to barely make out the outline of his mother. Her face was buried in her hands and her charcoal hair met her back in tangled, unkempt wisps. Whether it was a trick of light, Sasuke didn't know, but her skin took on a sallow tinge.

"Wh's go . . . ng 'n?" he managed to croak hoarsely.

He wanted to know why Itachi looked as close to crying as he ever had been. He wanted to know what had gotten his mother into hysterics. But most of all, he wanted to know why there was such _blinding pain_ in his body!

"Oh thank God."

And suddenly, Itachi was hugging him.

_Hugging_ him.

He hadn't shown such affection in _years!_

Something was definitely wrong.

"I-Itachi?" He turned to his mother. She was advancing on him with her arms outstretched. "M-m-mom?"

"He still remembers!" his mother choked out as she enveloped him in a bone-crushing, pain-inducing hug. Sasuke winced. "There's no memory loss!"

_Memory loss?!_

"Do you remember everything?" Itachi asked when their mother unwound her arms from Sasuke and began stroking his hair. "The last thing you remember?"

What was he supposed to remember?

. . .

_Oh._

The memories washed over him with the same force as a tsunami.

He was falling . . .

. . . Falling.

"No," he whispered. His arms started working again. Adrenaline, he thought. He had so much of it all of a sudden. With shaking hands, he grasped his hair wildly, masochistically, his eyes growing wider. "No, no!"

"Calm down, honey!" said Mikoto, trying to gently pry her son's hands from his hair. "You shouldn't try and sprain anything after you've finally woken up!"

"Finally woken up?" exclaimed Sasuke. "How long have I been asleep?!"

It was Itachi who answered after a long pause. His voice was monotonous, but Sasuke could still sense the bit of hesitation.

"Comatose for six months."

_One . . ._

_Two . . . _

_Three . . ._

_"Six months?!"_

Sasuke jerked forward without restraints this time, the bed sheets pooling over his legs and revealing his bandaged torso. His nasal cannula ripped savagely at his cartilage and several needles and wires disconnected from his body painfully, but he was too preoccupied to notice. Panic suddenly coursed through him. There was something wrong. There was something _more_ wrong than wrong!

"Mom, why can't I feel my left leg?" he asked. Blood was beginning to drip from his nose and down his mouth. The taste was nauseatingly familiar.

Warning! Warning! Panic levels rising! Evacuate immediately!

His eyes grew wide and the sweat that had dried broke out once more. It was all happening too fast. Things were all going downhill too quickly. This wasn't real. This _wasn't_ real! Sasuke put one hand on the sheet to wrench it away, but Itachi stopped him.

"It's natural for you not to be able to move your muscles," he said. "You haven't been used to moving them, so you've got to go into physical therapy."

Some part of Sasuke knew he was lying. That part jerked from his brother's grasp with the words "Don't bullshit me!" and flung the covers off of his legs.

He gasped.

Mikoto looked at him through tears that had sprung anew.

"I'm so sorry, honey . . ."

Sasuke's eyes rolled to the back of his head. The heart monitors suddenly sprang to life, having not been disconnected from his finger.

"What's going on?" Mikoto cried shrilly.

"Shock," Itachi whispered to himself at first. Upon realizing the danger, his eyes widened. "Shock! He's going into shock!"

He was at Sasuke's bed in an instant, yelling for a doctor as he patted his brother's cheeks roughly. "Stay with me, Sasuke! Stay with me!"

But his brother's eyes were already blank.

And he was unconscious.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke grumbled in the backseat of the car, crossing his arms over his chest and looking out the window. It was a bright summer's day, perfect for swimming, playing in the park, and having a picnic, which was exactly what he was going to do.

That didn't mean he _wanted_ to do it.

His father was in the front seat of the Bentley convertible, mouth set into a firm line and eyes watching the road. They were supposed to meet his mother and brother at the park by the freshwater creek that ran from their town to the next.

_Tap, tap, tap . . ._

Sasuke grit his teeth.

_Tap, tap, tappity-tap . . ._

He looked around for the source of the annoying sound. It turned out to be his father's fingers. They were twitching on the steering wheel.

His father _never_ twitched . . . or showed any emotion whatsoever.

Weird.

He turned back to the window.

_Tap, tap, tap . . ._

"Would you stop tapping your fingers, _dad?"_ he demanded, spitting out the last word as if he had chewed on a lemon seed.

"Keep your mouth shut, _son."_

It was good to know the hate was mutual.

Sasuke hated his father – _loathed_ his father. There wasn't anything he hated _more_ than being in his very _presence. _He gave a growl and stared out the window once more. They were heading over a bridge that ran high above the creek. He could see people the size of raisins sitting on the lush fields that led down to the banks, some blocked by trees, others running with their dogs – llamas – what?

Sasuke smirked as he recognized his mother's orange hat. He could barely see her, for he was so high up and she looked like nothing but a mere ant, but he _knew_ it was her. After all, who else would wear such a silly-looking hat? Seeing a block of white beside her, Sasuke knew it was a canvas, and knew that his brother was hidden behind it, painting.

The car suddenly stopped.

Fugaku chuckled.

_What the hell . . .?_

In all fifteen-soon-to-be-sixteen years of his life, Sasuke had never _once_ heard his father chuckle, let alone laugh.

Oh, something was wrong. So very wrong.

His father suddenly let out laughter. It wasn't sincere laughter, no. There was nothing funny at all. No clowns hanging in nooses, no killer going on about the town . . . absolutely nothing funny in Sasuke's eyes.

It was more like . . . _insane_ laughter.

"Dad?" Sasuke questioned. He leaned forward on the seats. Fugaku turned around to face him, a grin apparent on his face, making Sasuke reel back ever-so-slightly. Behind them, several cars honked. They were still at the beginning of the bridge and Sasuke could not see its end in the distance.

Looking into his father's eyes, however, made him shiver.

There was a maniacal gleam in them. He'd never seen it before. It seemed like his father was almost in_sane._

"Dad, are you okay?" asked Sasuke. He'd never uttered those words before. "Maybe you should step outside . . ."

"Worthless," whispered Fugaku as he turned to stare back at the roads. "You're worthless. Everything's worthless. Everything's _wrong_, so very _wrong,_ and so very _right, _wrong, right, wrong . . ."

Fugaku went into a drawn-out rant. Sasuke's eyes were wide. He knew his father _thought_ of him as worthless, but to go out and _say _it?

"Pathetic . . ."

That just _hurt._

But then he realized that his father must not have been in the right state of mind. There was something terribly wrong. Fugaku pressed on the gas pedal, lightly at first.

"Dad, maybe you should stop and step outside for a breath of fresh air."

He pressed harder on the pedal.

The car was speeding up.

"Pathetic!" his father exclaimed. "Everything in this world is pathetic! No money! No nothing! Everyone is in_competent!_ Losers, incompetence, fucking good-for-nothing maintenance –"

"Dad, stop the car!"

But Sasuke realized that his father _wasn't_ going to stop the car. They were breaking the speed limit now and were still high above the creek. The end of the bridge seemed to get farther and farther.

His father was insane. Sasuke understood that now. He wasn't safe anymore. Something bad was going to happen. Something _really_ bad.

Panic rose as Sasuke fiddled with his seatbelt that just _wouldn't_ come _off!_

"Dad! Dad, stop!"

His voice had raised itself several pitches.

"Die! Die, that's it! That's _perfect!" _his father rambled on. "You'll die, and I'll die, and we'll all die, and live happily ever after in _hell!_ And we'll –"

"Dad!"

There were tears in his eyes now. Tears of fear. Sasuke had managed to unlatch his seatbelt, but the doors were still locked and wouldn't open if he _tried_ and besides, they were going at speeds _too fast_ for him to jump out of the car and survive.

"Dad, please! Stop! Stop!"

He was begging now. Begging for his life.

"Die, die! That's it! That's the perfect solution!" He let out a disgusting cackle that only made Sasuke scream. "Die! Die! _Die!"_

Fugaku jerked the steering wheel to the side. The car swerved violently and before Sasuke's very eyes, they broke through the railing of the bridge.

"Dad!"

"Die, die!" his father chanted. "I want to _die!"_

And he was falling . . .

. . . Falling . . .

Sasuke never heard the crash.

He was already unconscious.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

**"Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem."**

**- Phil Donahue**

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

_What had happened . . .?_

_Oh, that's right . . ._

_I woke up, didn't I?_

_Hello, pain. We meet again._

_Tap, tap, tap . . ._

Sasuke groaned and clenched his teeth.

_Tap, tap, tappity-tap . . ._

"S-stop," he whispered. His jaw ached.

_Tap, tap . . . tap?_

"Sasuke?"

_Oh, it's that voice again . . ._

Sasuke groaned and rustled around in the sheets that had been wrapped tightly around his body. He squeezed his eyes to brace himself for the lights to come, only to open them and see that there wasn't any light at all. He was still in the hospital room, but the fluorescent lighting above him was turned off and the only thing that illuminated his brother's grim face was the moonlight shining from the drawn-back curtains.

_How nostalgic . . ._

Looking blearily into his brother's eyes, he was surprised to find the sudden range of emotion passing through them: from relief, to depression, to downright fury, and then to a contortion of all three. But it all disappeared into a mask of oblivion the second he spoke.

"We thought we lost you again," he said. "_I_ thought you'd slipped back into your coma."

The memories came rushing back. Sasuke closed his eyes briefly and swallowed the bile that had risen in his throat from the horrid images. He dared not remove the covers on his legs. Maybe if he didn't make sure what he had seen was true, then it _wasn't_ true.

Itachi stood from his chair to loom over Sasuke's immobilized figure. Sasuke could clearly see the emotion in his eyes, no matter how hard Itachi tried to hold it back.

"Do you know how many times we almost lost you?" he said in an ominous whisper. Sasuke stayed silent. "Twice, Sasuke."

Itachi suddenly whirled around and slammed his fist into the hospital wall. Sasuke jumped from the movement and the heart monitor's emerald line jumped with him.

"_Twice!_ You went into cardiac arrest _twice!_ And just over four hours ago, you went into cardiogenic shock and the doctors were almost _sure_ you'd _die!_ Or you'd slip into a coma that you'd _never_ come out from!"

Sasuke didn't understand why he was angry. He didn't understand a lot of things in the hazy daze his mind was occupying.

"Mother is currently being sedated." He was much calmer as he spoke this time, but his fist never left the wall. Sasuke could see small rivulets of blood flow down his knuckles. "She went into a fit of hysteria when you went into shock."

Itachi's eyes were suddenly right in front of his, boring into him.

"Just . . ." he began in a whisper. "Just don't do that again."

Sasuke swallowed the bile that had risen once more and nodded painstakingly slowly. He tried to wet his chapped lips, but found that his tongue was already too dry.

"'tachi," he croaked. "D- . . . did . . . really hap'n?"

_Please no . . . please no . . . please no!_

"Yes."

_Well thank you, Mr. Blunt._

Sasuke didn't know what to think. Half of him still believed his leg was fully intact. The other half kept replaying the vision he had seen: the stump of his leg wrapped in bandages and missing from mid-thigh. His throat closed and his eyes widened. Panic was suddenly invading his mind again. Itachi saw this.

"Sasuke, don't panic," he said.

"Don't p-p_-panic?!"_

"You'll go back into shock, or you'll get a heart attack, and I don't think you'd be able to survive through another –"

"_Leg_ – _gone!"_

"It's not as bad as it seems –!"

"Not 's _b-bad?!"_

Sasuke was trying desperately to sit up, his limbs aching and the pace on his heart monitor beginning to quicken. The sheets were pooling around his waist again and he could almost see it . . .

His limbs began to jerk uncontrollably. He was losing control of everything. Even his mind seemed to jump straight from his head and appear in front of him, like it wasn't totally his, like it wasn't completely real.

And then Itachi was hugging him.

Again.

Sasuke jerked in his grip, but Itachi only tightened the embrace. "Calm down," he urged. And then, in the most pleading, desperate voice his brother had uttered in all twenty years of his life, he said, "Please."

Sasuke had to stop.

Tears. They were coming now. He honestly had no idea where they came from. At first, he had thought of it to be blood from some unknown cut, but when they reached his gaping mouth, he could taste them. They flowed over his cheeks and rolled down his chin to get absorbed into Itachi's shirt. Before he knew it, his face was buried into his brother's torso and his hands gripped at his shirt's material desperately.

"W-what happ'ned?" he sobbed out, still unable to correctly form his words. "Why? Why _me?"_

Itachi, who had never been in this situation more than twice, awkwardly patted his brother's back.

"Are you sure you want the story?"

Sasuke was hesitant at first. Had it been _that_ bad? But he nodded his head as best as he could and ignored the dull throbbing in the entirety of his body. Itachi sighed and decided not to beat around the bush. It was his specialty, after all.

"Father committed suicide."

Sasuke's breath hitched in his throat. He _knew_ that. And it was _his_ fault.

"Mother and I could see it from where we were sitting. There were people pointing and screaming and when I saw the Bentley, I knew who it was. And I knew it was bound to happen."

_He __**knew? **__What . . .?_

"I just didn't expect you to be in the car with him."

"Acted strange. Him," whispered Sasuke. "T-told him t' stop, but h-he kept screaming. Wanted d-d-die. The seatbelt was s-stuck and moving –"

"I know," Itachi interrupted. "Just listen. People all around us were calling the police and the paramedics. The car sunk in the creek and since there wasn't a current, I knew it was still in one place. It was a hundred-foot drop. So I did the only thing I thought of. I swam."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Itachi!"

"I know, mother!" Itachi screamed back at his frantic mother. "I _know!"_

There was chaos all around the picnic area. People were running about in search of authorities, dogs were barking at the wave of water that had erupted, and Mikoto was giving off a high-pitched scream at the sight of the sinking Bentley.

It was soon submerged completely within the creek. People gathered at the banks and whispered in gossip.

But Itachi was actually going to do something pro_duc_tive.

Running at full speed towards the creek (and pushing past several people that had crowded around), he removed the casual t-shirt he had worn, the undershirt beneath, and even his jeans, leaving him clad in nothing but black boxer shorts. Knowing that clothes would only weigh him down as he swam, he _had_ to do so, even if it meant people staring at him.

With practiced expertise, he ran forwards . . . and dove.

It was _freezing!_ Despite being early in the summer, the creek hit Itachi with such coldness that he swore if he survived, he would have been able to survive in the Arctic. There was no current, but the water was deep and had turned murky due to the dust storm the impact of the Bentley had kicked up.

"Itachi!" he vaguely heard his mother scream. "Itachi, _please!"_

But he dove down into the darkness of the waters with a single breath. He had to work fast. Beneath the temperatures, his breaths wouldn't last long.

With adrenaline building in his veins, he searched desperately for the Bentley. It had no chance of explosion, but still . . .

There!

He barely suppressed a gasp at the shape of the vehicle. The entirety of the front was submerged deeply into the sandy depths. What _was_ visible was half of the vehicle from the passenger's seat. And in the seat, a head. A head of black.

Sasuke.

His bare feet quickly rocketed off of the sandy grounds and his head broke through the surface of the water to meet gasps and whispers. Ignoring them, he dove back down.

When he came along Sasuke's side of the car, he could see that it was completely filled with water. And to his horror . . . blood. The red liquid mingled with the water and hazed the surrounding liquid so that he could only see his brother's hair floating hauntingly within.

Clenching his teeth, he tried desperately to pull on the passenger's side of the door.

Stuck.

The sand encased it. Every time his hands tried to push it away, the water would push it back. In absolute desperation, Itachi knew there was only one thing he could do.

He punched the window.

It caved in immediately, the shards floating eerily in the water. Itachi ignored the blood flowing from his broken and aching fingers and instead focused on his brother. From his position, he could see the front seat as well.

And something he never wanted to see in his life.

His father, strapped to his seat by his seatbelt of doom, was crushed between his seat and the condensed front of the car . . . metal ripping his torso to shreds and a serene smile upon his face.

Itachi clasped his hand to his mouth as quickly as the water would let him and rocketed towards the surface once more. When his head broke the surface, powerful hands took him beneath the armpits immediately and dragged him to shore.

Police sirens wailed in the background and radios went off incessantly. Someone was asking him if he could stand. His reply was emptying his stomach's contents onto the sand, watching his knuckles bleed . . . like Sasuke had . . .

"Get the man a blanket!" someone barked.

"Itachi!"

"We've got a submerged car in the creek. Flew straight off the bridge . . ."

". . . Witnesses say there were two passengers . . ."

A blanket was suddenly around his violently coughing figure. Mikoto was kneeling in front of him, asking if he was alright.

No, he wasn't alright.

He wouldn't be alright.

Not until he knew his brother was alive.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"They carried you out of the water and brought you into the ambulance so quickly I only saw blood. The paramedics were trying to revive you in the ambulance. I let mother ride with you because I knew she'd be too hysterical to drive the car, which I took over.

"The second they put you beneath surgery, you went into your first cardiac arrest. They managed to revive you with jolts to your heart. Hours later, with you _still_ in surgery, you went into your second cardiac arrest to which they said you wouldn't survive through."

Sasuke relaxed slightly. His muscles were slacking and his grip on his brother's shirt loosened. With drooping eyes, he tried desperately to stay conscious as his brother told him the rest of the story.

"You slipped into your coma after that and everything went pretty chaotic at the beginning, but then it calmed down in the end. . . . Father had died in the crash. The front of the Bentley was completely destroyed."

Itachi noticed his brother's slackened grip and released him, gently easing him back into the bed. Sasuke welcomed it with a small groan as he closed his eyes.

"I think mother wanted to tell you this, but seeing as she is incapable, I shall do so: we're moving."

". . . Mo . . . ving?"

Itachi nodded despite knowing Sasuke couldn't see him. "Father's empire crashed. Our money was taken away and if we continue to live in the same house we have now, we will eventually be out on the streets. We have to move to an apartment and Kisame – you remember him, don't you? My good friend in Konoha? He helped us find a good apartment in a nice town while you were incapacitated and we've already finished packing."

"We . . . poor?" croaked Sasuke, his eyes still closed.

Itachi grimaced. "In a way."

"Pay hop'sital bills? How?"

Sasuke knew they must have been up to their necks in bills. Six months beneath heavy machinery in the hospital was sure to put up a large price.

"Insurance."

And the moment they've been waiting for:

"My . . . m-my leg?"

Itachi sighed and ran a hand through his hair, looking twenty for once and not forty, as he acted. Upon opening his eyes again, Sasuke took in his brother's look completely for the first time since he'd awoken. His face had become gaunt and slightly hollowed as if he hadn't been eating properly, which Sasuke suspected he hadn't. The once healthy-looking hair atop his head was tangled and lacked its usual sheen.

The older Uchiha took a seat in the chair he once occupied so that the moonlight illuminated his face to the point that he looked like some sort of ethereal messenger from Heaven.

"Transfemoral prosthetic," he said. "It's a little more expensive than a transtibial prosthetic, but since your leg was severed from mid-thigh, it's needed."

As if Sasuke understood the difference.

"'tachi?" Sasuke whispered quietly. He was seconds away from sleep.

"Mm?"

"L-leave me? Don't."

For the first time in six months, Itachi smirked.

"I'm not going anywhere."


	2. Time of your Life

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . oh, snap crackle pop.

**Author's Note:** Holy barnacles! I did _not_ know this story would be as popular! I got more hits on the last chapter than all five chapters of my Never the Same! **6,457!!!!!!!!!!**

*tears* I love you guys.

Anyway, back to the main point: this chapter!

It might seem like a quick transition, but I hope it fits in. Someone tell me if the transition was a bit wrong in the sense that it happened too quickly, please!

Read and enjoy! Remember: only review if you fell like you want to do so sincerely.

Oh, and this is a _LONG_ chapter. Sorry!

**Chapter 2  
**…**:::Time of your Life:::…  
****Green Day**

"And how does that make you feel?"

He sighed.

"Kakashi, you've asked me the same damn question for three months and got the same answer."

The silver-haired man on the couch chuckled slightly to himself, turning the pages of his orange book. "Your progress is so amazing that there really isn't a need to continue, you know."

"I can't risk it," was the stiff reply. "I return to school in four days."

Kakashi closed his book and stood up from his squashy, purple beanbag chair to maneuver over to a desk in the corner of the brightly-lit room. Sun poured through the lime-green curtains attached to two large windows. It didn't help that the room was colored a bright azure, or that the majority of the furniture looked like it belonged in neon signs rather than the house of Hatake Kakashi.

"I've got your journals," the man said, picking up several thin, white notebooks that had been tied together. "During this week, I'll be reading them."

"Procrastinating as usual, Kakashi? I completed those journals two weeks ago."

"Watch your mouth, Uchiha, or I'll give you hell when school comes round."

"Not like you don't give me hell already."

"You've just signed your death wish."

"Pleasure doing business with you."

Kakashi smirked at the attitude of the teenager affront of him. Sasuke, looking rather awkward sitting in a neon orange chair, was scratching the ears of a tan pug that had taken a liking to his arms. Sasuke wore a smirk to rival Kakashi's, looking almost like the mob bosses who carried pudgy white cats with scars beneath their eyes and a tendency to say "Meet my little friend".

"You've spoiled Pakkun too much," said the silver-haired man. "He's getting lazier."

Sasuke rubbed the dog's brownish snout briefly when its ears had perked at the sound of his name. "I'm not spoiling him," said the boy. "You fed him too much. And you make him wear this ridiculous-looking cape. It's not my fault he likes me better."

Pakkun gave a snort, as if agreeing.

Had Kakashi not had his face mask on, he would have stuck his tongue out childishly, but he resorted to once again, smirking. However, his smirk soon turned into a frown when he took in the full features of the Uchiha.

The boy's face was sunken, definitely marring the beauty it _had_ been nine months ago. Despite gaining the determination and perfecting the infamous glare, Sasuke's eyes seemed different in a way. Trailing his eyes downwards, Kakashi noticed the way the plain crimson t-shirt and khaki pants fell loosely over a bony frame. He could see the clear outline of his collarbones through practically see-through skin.

"I don't like the way you're looking at me," said Sasuke. His smirk turned into a frown as well. "What?"

"You haven't been eating."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Here we go again."

"No, Sasuke, there _is_ no 'here we go again.' Didn't I give you a diet to follow?" retorted Kakashi.

Sasuke leaned forward on his knees, still stroking Pakkun's ears. "And with all honesty, Kakashi, I've followed it. Cross my heart."

Kakashi glanced warily into the boy's eyes, but could see nothing. Typical. Ever since he'd come out of his coma, he'd been inhumanly excellent at masking whatever went on inside that mind of his.

"Then why have you lost so much weight? You look like _Pakkun_ could push you over!"

Kakashi strode to where Sasuke sat and pulled gently on his shirt. With several protests from the Uchiha, and a bark from Pakkun, he pulled it over his head to leave him bare-chested.

"Hey!" shouted Sasuke, wrapping his arms around himself instinctively. "That's a total invasion of the bubble!"

"You lost your bubble when you stepped into my house," said Kakashi. "Can you _see _yourself? Sure, you've got arm muscles, but I can play the xylophone of your ribs!"

Pakkun decided that if he wasn't the center of attention anymore, he didn't want to be hanging around the two males. He jumped as gracefully as a tiny pug could and walked off, yawning lazily.

Sasuke tried to grab for his shirt, but Kakashi held it away from him. "You crazy old man!" the Uchiha shouted. "Give it back! I'm cold!"

"What have you been doing?"

I've been _train_ing! Isn't that what you told me to do?"

"How many hours a day?"

"One."

"Sasuke."

Sasuke hesitated at the tone of Kakashi's voice. ". . . Six."

Three, two, one . . .

_"SIX?!"_

Sasuke winced at the harshness in his mentor's voice and desperately tried to reach for his shirt again. He could see his scars and did _not_ like the way they stood out on his skin.

"I specifically told you no more than _one!_ Did you know you could get yourself _killed?"_

"Alright, alright, jeez! I'll stop. Just . . . just give me back my shirt."

Kakashi stared down at his student and his eyes widened slightly. "Oh, Sasuke, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, I just forgot in my rage and –"

"It's okay." He quickly snatched the shirt and put it over his torso.

Kakashi sighed, ran a hand (or at least, tried to) through his gravity-defying hair and sat back down in the beanbag chair he previously occupied. "I know how much you want to get better, Sasuke, but training for six hours a day isn't healthy. You lose more calories than you eat. And believe me, you've gotten so much better that no one will notice anything! Your progress is unbelievable! You certainly live up to the Uchiha prodigy legend."

Sasuke stubbornly turned away. "Can I go home if you don't have any therapy lessons for today?"

"Nope."

Sasuke swore that beneath that damned mask of his, Kakashi was smiling . . . sadistically. He clenched his teeth.

"And why not?"

"Because I _do_ have some plans for you! And they're going to be _so_ much _fun!"_

"Crazy old man."

"Jerky chicken butt."

"Sadistic pervert."

"Brooding baby."

Sasuke stuck his tongue out.

"Are you sure you didn't lose your maturity during that coma?"

"At least I'm not as perverted as you are."

"Hush. I'm a _secret_ pervert, not an open one." He pet Sasuke's uniquely-styled hair before his tone turned to one of utmost seriousness. "Seriously, though, I need to talk to you about something."

Sasuke crossed his arms and blew a strand of stray hair from his face. "Don't you always?"

"Sasuke, really. Itachi and Mikoto have been telling me that you show signs of serious depression, and quite possibly emotional shock –"

"I am _not_ insane if that's what you're thinking."

"No, no, you're not insane," said Kakashi. "You've proven that through studies. There's something that's been going on in your mind that really seems of be affecting you. As your psychiatrist and physical therapist, I have the right to know."

"That doesn't mean I'll tell you."

In a falsely-sweet voice, Kakashi said, "Sasuke, let me see your wrists."

"And I don't cut myself, either, so you can –"

Kakashi roughly grabbed his student's wrists and fastened a pair of handcuffs around one of them, then firmly pulled the boy to one corner of the wall.

"Let go of me! This wasn't in the schedule!"

Kakashi quickly threw a painting off of the wall and fastened the other ring of the handcuffs on the little loop that protruded from the cement. Sasuke tried to struggle out of it, but found himself completely locked.

"I'm sure Mikoto would understand," said Kakashi. "You aren't leaving this house until I get answers."

Sasuke scowled. "I could sue for child abuse."

"You'd lose everything."

Sasuke's scowl _deep_ened.

"I hate you."

"So I've been told.

There was a long, awkward moment of silence where Sasuke struggled stubbornly and Kakashi merely sighed. After such a silence, the teenager was ultimately fed up. He huffed, went limp in the cuffs, and said (rather bluntly), "What?"

Kakashi clapped him on the shoulder and smiled annoyingly. "I knew you'd come through eventually!" This smile, however, was temporary. A frown marred his face beneath his mask and his eyes opened from their previous crinkles.

"What is it that is on your mind? Is it because of the accident?"

Sasuke's eyes trailed to his curly, neon orange shoelaces on his black, plain sneakers (his mother had bought the shoelaces for him). Sighing and taking a deep breath, he opened his mouth to speak.

_"Hey stupid, Itachi's calling! Hey _stupid_, Itachi's _calling!_ Pick up the phone! Hey stupid, Itachi's calling!"_

Sasuke looked towards the ceiling and muttered a grateful 'thank you' before raising an eyebrow. "You customized your ring tone?"

"It's a long story," replied Kakashi, fishing through his jeans. He eventually pulled out a smallish cell phone and brought it to his ear. "You've got the worst timing ever, Itachi."

_"Torturing my brother as usual, Hatake?"_ came Itachi's voice. _"I thought you were supposed to be a psychiatrist, not one to put him in an asylum."_

"Yeah, yeah, what do you really want?"

Sasuke watched Pakkun walk lazily back into the room as Kakashi continued to speak. The dog walked between Sasuke's legs twice before making itself comfortable on his sneakers. A few seconds later, Sasuke heard its light breathing.

"Stupid, spoiled dog," Sasuke muttered.

Pakkun snorted, as if saying, _"Damn right."_

_"I'm a minute away from your house at the moment. Sasuke's doctor called. She wants to make sure that he will be able to go to school in about four days and so I'm picking him up."_

"Can't you call thirty minutes before these kinds of things?!"

_"I like to mix things up a bit. Be predictable here, spontaneous there . . . you should understand."_

Sasuke laughed inwardly at the tone of Itachi's sarcasm. Kakashi was smirking.

"You're a weird one, Uchiha." He cast a glance at Sasuke. "All of you are."

_"I thank you for your kind words. Oh, hold on a second."_

Kakashi's doorbell resounded within the room. Pakkun jumped up, suddenly jittery, and began barking. Kakashi grumbled and muttered curses beneath his breath, flipping his phone's lid, and walked to wrench open the door. "Your Highness," he said sarcastically, feigning a bow.

"Why, thank you, peasant."

Uchiha Itachi stepped over the threshold and stared around the room in search of his brother, bending down briefly to scratch Pakkun behind the ears. He raised a single eyebrow when he caught sight of him cuffed to the wall. Kakashi came up behind him.

"I ran out of rope," he simply said.

"Touché," replied Itachi.

"Oi!" Sasuke started to struggle once more. "You're supposed to _help_ me, not agree with this criminal!"

"Ouch, that hurt," said Kakashi. He placed a hand over his heart and swayed for dramatic effect. "What ever shall I do?"

"Alright, that's enough for today," said Itachi. "Take the cuffs off of him. It'll make his muscles sore."

Kakashi sighed and took the key from his shirt pocket. With Sasuke glaring at him the entire time, and Pakkun biting the edges of his jeans, he unlocked the cuff from the boy's arm and quickly stepped back before Sasuke had the time to swing a punch. Surprisingly, he merely stood, rubbing his raw wrist, and walked to the door to put his shoes on.

"Only four days left," said Itachi, watching his brother with emotionless posture.

"Then I'll be a psychiatrist, a physical therapist, _and_ a guidance counselor," said Kakashi dryly. "And here I was thinking life couldn't get any better."

"You know you love us," chirruped Sasuke from his position.

"You have no idea."

"We'll be seeing you tomorrow, Kakashi," said Itachi. "Come on, Sasuke. We can't keep Doctor Tsunade waiting."

"I hate her," said Sasuke bluntly. He turned with a wave at Kakashi and went to walk out, Pakkun maneuvering around his heels.

"Hey Uchiha."

A book was thrown at him and with his quick reflexes, he caught it. It was one of the simple white notebooks Kakashi gave him to use as journals. He raised an eyebrow. "What's this for? I thought all my journal entries were taken care of."

"Well, this is a new arc," said Kakashi. "That's for the first term of school, got it? I want an entry everyday if you can. But the first thing I want in that book is the information you were going to tell me before we were interrupted. Am I understood?"

Sasuke scowled and turned around to walk out.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"He's been grumpy for quite some time," said Itachi. Kakashi took it as his way of being apologetic. He could never tell from the man's facial expressions. "I think he's been thinking about the kids at school."

"They're all hormonal, crazy teenagers filled with the usual teenage angst. He'll fit right in."

Itachi smirked. "Bye, Hatake."

Kakashi waved a hand and then turned back to the book he had set on the table. Itachi closed the door behind him.

The elder Uchiha caught up with his brother, walking down the quiet roads of Konoha. They casually fell into step, the older with his hands clasped behind his back and the younger with his hands shoved deep into his pocket.

"I hate this town," Sasuke suddenly spoke up. "We've been here for three months and I still can never get used to it."

"You don't hate this town," replied Itachi without looking at his little brother. He, instead, chose to stare at the serene scenery. His mother absolutely loved the way the apartments and houses intermingled to create a mix of tall and short that, along with the lush fields of green and trees at every stop, making the town one of the most beautiful she had seen. Itachi had agreed.

The streets were smoothly obsidian, going upwards in hills at times, houses meeting their demands. The sun shone through openings in the tall trees every now and then, and at the end of every block was a lengthy field.

Sasuke, however, thought differently from the remaining family.

"You only _think_ you hate it because you don't want to get used to it."

Sasuke scowled. "That's not true."

Itachi merely smirked and stared around once more. They were nearing the town's center: the area where most of the main shops and buildings were located. The two of them crossed the street without a word and without a second glance for cars. In Konoha, cars were rare to see in the streets at midday. Everyone was either in school or at work.

"Mom's always at work, you have work at night, the apartment is completely different from our own home, the people here look at me like I'm some monster –"

"– Maybe if you stopped scowling at them like _they_ were monsters –"

"— and I have yet to see the school, we're closer to Kakashi, there's never any family time, we've got scarce money –"

"Stop complaining, Sasuke. It does no good," said Itachi. "Think of the bright side. At least you're still alive."

"That's _not_ a bright side," the younger Uchiha mumbled.

Itachi took another glance around the town instead of listening to his younger brother. He thought that he'd eventually have to get some time off to sit down in a quiet area and paint the magnificent scenery around him. He never really got the chance.

As if their brother-brother telepathy had acted up, Sasuke looked at Itachi. "Itachi," he said, in a calmer mood than before. "Why don't you paint anymore?"

"I still paint," replied the older Uchiha. They passed through a small bundle of people.

"No you don't. You haven't painted a picture since we got here."

Itachi sighed. "I've been busy. I haven't had any inspiration, either."

Sasuke didn't say anything. He knew the reason his brother didn't paint anymore was because the supplies were costly. A lot of privileges had been taken away from them because of their dramatic decrease in money.

"Good afternoon, Itachi!" someone called. "And Sasuke, too!"

The Uchiha brothers turned to face the bakery in the corner of the street where two grinning men stood. The one with the bandana that flattened his hair to cover his right eye had spoken and one with spiked navy hair and a goatee to match was waving.

"Good afternoon, Kotetsu, Izumo," said Itachi. Sasuke grumbled a reply.

Izumo laughed. "Someone's a little grumpy," he said. "Care to have a doughnut? On the house."

"We'd best be heading to Lady Tsunade for our appointment," said Itachi. "But thank you for the offer."

"Oh come on, a doughnut won't hurt!"

"I don't like sweets," Sasuke muttered.

"Itachi?"

"No, thank you."

"You guys are no fun," said Kotetsu, crossing his arms with mock hurt. "But you make lovely additions to the neighborhood."

"If you're done making me feel like a lawn ornament, we have somewhere to be," Itachi said with a smirk.

"That damn Uchiha humor," said Izumo. "See you tonight, Uchiha. Bye Sasuke."

"I hate them, too," Sasuke said a while later, when the Konoha Hospital was in view. It stood alone amidst a field of green, four stories high, with a length and width large enough to make a baseball stadium jealous. It was the only hospital for miles.

"You know you love them," Itachi replied before stepping in front of the automatic doors into the hustle and bustle of the hospital. Nurses assisted waiting patients to their rooms; doctors roamed the main room with clipboards in their hands and spoke to the occasional person that happened to walk by. Itachi led the way to the large desk in the center of the room where three women were sitting patiently behind piles of papers.

"Ah, Itachi!" said one with chin-length, black hair. She smiled and titled her head to the side slightly. "And Sasuke as well. Here for a checkup with Lady Tsunade no doubt. How are you?"

"I'm well," replied Itachi. "And yes, Shizune, we are here for a checkup." He reached for a pen beside a clipboard as he spoke, already knowing the routine. "Is she busy?"

"She's been complaining about you two, actually," replied Shizune with a smile. "She says you're five minutes late."

"Ah, forgive us," said Itachi. "It is my fault. I stopped to buy some medicine on the way to pick up Sasuke."

"Are you sick?"

"No, but mother has had a fever recently. If you don't mind, we'll be heading in before Lady Tsunade has my head."

Shizune laughed and motioned to the hallway to the left. Sasuke raised an eyebrow when they left. "Why did mom go to work if she has a fever?" he asked.

"You know how stubborn mother can be," said Itachi. "I told her not to, but she snuck out of the house when we were asleep."

"Only eighteen years older than you and acting like she's eighteen," whispered Sasuke, shaking his head in mock pity. Itachi smirked and stopped in front of a door. Sasuke, however, didn't stop.

"Oh no you don't," said Itachi. "You're going to face her."

"But I don't _like_ her!" Sasuke whined uncharacteristically. "She _hurts!"_

"I heard that, Uchiha!"

Sasuke's eyes widened, caught off guard. He turned around slowly, as if every second was an eon, to stare right into the honey eyes of Lady Tsunade herself.

"Um . . . hi, Tsunade."

"Brat," was Tsunade's clipped reply. "I regret the day you stepped into my office," she continued jokingly as she opened her own door. Sasuke swore he saw the doorknob bend. "Hello, Itachi. It's a surprise to see you so late."

"Medicine," was all Itachi said as he followed her into the room.

Sasuke grumbled about hating hospitals and followed suit. The familiar room was not as blindingly white as the rest of the rooms. Instead, it was painted to a light blue and a varnished wooden desk sat in one corner, decorated with pictures and papers and pens with fuzzy purple caps. The room consisted of nothing but a bed in the other corner, cabinets, and a scale.

"I don't have to weigh you to know you're underweight," Tsunade said, eyeing Sasuke. "You've lost weight since our last appointment a week ago." She turned to Itachi. "Don't you feed him?"

"He's been training quite a bit while mother and I are gone," said Itachi. "I've tried to strap him to a bed, but he's developed claustrophobia recently."

Sasuke grimaced when Tsunade prodded his ribs to test them. Her blond hair brushed over his nose, tickling him, but he wouldn't dare show it.

"Alright, Uchiha, up on the bed, or do I need to help you up?"

"Why are we paying her?" Sasuke asked Itachi as he complied. He sat on the edge of the white mattress, dangling his legs.

"Why am I _letting_ you pay me?"

Nonetheless, Tsunade smirked. Even though Sasuke got on her nerves at points, she still loved to have him around when he wasn't being such an –

"Ass," Tsunade mumbled when Sasuke "accidentally" kicked her in the shin. Itachi smirked from his seated position. "Alright, alright, let's get real. How's it been doing?"

"Pretty well, actually," said Sasuke, flexing his left leg. "No one's noticed a difference in the creases of my pants thanks to the type, and it hasn't backfired on me yet."

"Take your pants off."

Sasuke hated that part.

He hated the fact that the weather was cold, that Tsunade's hands were _always_ cold, and the fact that he sat in his boxers in front of a woman. Nonetheless, he did it. He kicked off his shoes and slid his khaki pants off with some difficulty from his seated position and let them fall to the ground, leaving him in nothing but crimson boxer shorts.

"You never fail to amuse me with your style, Uchiha," said Tsunade when she noticed that his underwear and his shirt matched.

"Just give me the checkup and I'll be out of your hair," was the reply.

"Ooh, feisty," Tsunade joked with a grin. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

Tsunade's hands roamed to his left leg. It didn't match his pale, thin, right one at all. Instead, its bizarreness began mid-thigh, where a plastic material mixed with metal was attached. It was fastened with silver and reinforced with black. The thigh stopped briefly before the end to become a thin pipe of silver metal with bolts before broadening to the silver-bolted knee and thin length of black for the leg. It continued to stop at the supposed ankles: a revolving silver ball with an imitation foot attached.

"Ah, my pride and joy," said Tsunade, examining it. Sasuke scowled. He didn't seem to think so. "You're lucky your money could cover the pay for this baby."

"Stop looking at it likes it's some sort of jewel. It's a handicap and nothing else," said Sasuke.

"Oh, let me guess," said Tsunade. "For the past three months, you've been wearing pants?"

"He even threw out his shorts," supplied Itachi.

Tsunade sighed. "Why are you so ashamed of having a prosthetic leg? I think it looks absolutely a_maz_ing. It's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I'd prefer it if I spoke to you about that later, Lady Tsunade," said Itachi quietly. Tsunade raised an eyebrow, but nodded her head anyway and returned to the leg.

"Have you been treating it well? Switching between first and second modes? Charging it?"

"Yeah, yeah, I've done everything I'm supposed to. No dents. No moving problems. No nothing," Sasuke replied quickly.

Tsunade's fingers grazed the point of attachment to the thigh. "Is it too tight? Getting too loose? If you lose anymore weight, Uchiha, this thing is going to fall right off. Don't overexert yourself."

"Yes, _mom_," replied Sasuke.

Tsunade whacked him lightly across his bare thigh. She moved Sasuke's leg a little, observing the way the knee bent. After a few more seconds of observation, she stood up, straightened her coat, and said, "You're good to go as soon as you fill out the assessment form. I need to fill out some forms of my own."

"And I, as always, get out Scott free," said Itachi, crossing his legs.

Tsunade handed Sasuke the assessment form on a clipboard (_Do they have an endless supply of clipboards?_ thought Sasuke) and a pen. Sasuke quickly checked the boxes for _Excellent _in the Prosthesis Assessment and _Never_ boxes for the Activity Assessment, hoping to be done as quickly as possible.

"Keep this up, Uchiha, and I'll have to give you a lollipop," Tsunade joked over her pile of papers.

"I don't like sweets."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

The second Sasuke set foot into the Uchiha apartment, he ran forwards and collapsed onto the navy couch in the living room.

"Tired already?" Itachi asked from the kitchen. He stood over a gas stove where he was currently boiling water for tea.

"I'm _always_ tired after assessments," said Sasuke. "It's always so _cold_ and walking up a flight of seven stairs doesn't help."

"You could always take the elevator," said Itachi.

"I need the training."

Itachi sighed and placed three spoonfuls of sugar into his cup before putting in the tea grains. "Do you want some tea? It'll help you sleep."

"You've already _tried_ to help me sleep with pills that don't really work."

Itachi took his own cup after pouring the heated water into it and made his way to the living room. It wasn't decorated as their old house had been because most of their belongings had been taken away or sold, but it still gave a warm, cozy sense with its cream-colored walls and golden curtains. There was a dusty fireplace on which several picture frames and trophies stood, an inherited grandfather clock between it, and a squashy navy armchair where Itachi took a seat.

"I'm such a wreck," Sasuke said to the cushion his face was buried in. His legs dangled over the arm of the couch. "A prosthetic leg, in need of a therapist, mental trauma, possible depressive shock, insomnia, claustrophobia . . ."

"But you've got the brains, the looks, and the talent to make up for it," said Itachi. He crossed his legs and let the steam of the tea tickle his chin. "It's equivalent trade. Humans are rarely perfect. One can have good looks, but may not have brain. One may have brain, but may not have good looks. A tragic life, but talent. Talent, but perhaps procrastination to use it."

"You're probably one of those rarely perfect humans," muttered Sasuke. "Good looks, a good life, _and_ talent and intelligence. All around perfect-ness."

"Perfect-ness isn't a word, brother."

"See what I mean?"

Itachi sipped his smoldering tea. "I'm less perfect than you'd imagine."

_"For goodness sake, woman, get some rest!"_

_"Oh, but Anko, I need the money from work –"_

_"I'll tell the boss something."_

The door opened and two womanly figures piled in. One wore a bright orange hat and the other seemed to be wearing as little as the public authority allowed her.

"Oh, hello boys," said Uchiha Mikoto, giving a weary smile and pulling off her orange hat.

"Howdy," said the woman named Anko. Sasuke and Itachi knew her from quite a few meetings. She secretly scared the younger Uchiha with her malicious smirk and tendency to like pointed objects. "Mikoto's being a stubborn woman, so I dragged her back."

"Really, Anko, I –"

"Mother, you really should sleep," said Itachi. He had set his tea down and was making his way over to the two women. "You look like you haven't slept for a while and your fever is quite high."

"Itachi, you can't possibly agree with an insane woman like this," said Mikoto, smiling good-naturedly.

"I've got work tonight, so it'll pay off for what you missed," said Itachi. "I think I should be the one to take the double jobs instead of you, mother."

"Nonsense!" exclaimed Mikoto. "The day I let my boys work harder than their mother is the day Hell freezes over and Satan exclaims he's gay and having an affair with an angel!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes and smirked.

"That was a nice metaphor," said Anko, grinning.

Mikoto opened her mouth to return the favor but suddenly swooned. Her knees buckled and she almost dropped to the floor had Itachi not caught her in time.

"Mom!" exclaimed Sasuke, jolting from his position to meet her. He and Itachi carried her to the couch he had previously occupied to lay her down.

"I've got your medicine," said Itachi. "Anko, get me a glass of water."

"Are you _sure_ it's just a fever?" asked Sasuke, feeling the blaze of her forehead.

"Don't worry, hun," said Mikoto. "If I don't get better in three days, which I assure you I _will_, then by all means, you have the right to send me to Lady Tsunade if you'd like."

Anko returned with a glass of water and handed it to Mikoto, who sat upright easily. Itachi handed her two plain white pills.

"Get some rest, Miki," said Anko. "If you come to work tomorrow, I'm going to set my Rottweilers on you. Take care of her, boys."

"Bye, Anko," said Sasuke, not even bothering to look up from his mother's sweating figure. "Let's get you into bed," he said.

"You boys are so persistent," said Mikoto, but she complied anyway. With Itachi and Sasuke helping her, she disappeared into her bedroom and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

"I'll be heading off to work in a bit," said Itachi. "Make sure you take a cloth and wet it for mother every twenty to thirty minutes. Call me if anything serious comes up."

Sasuke nodded his head and said his goodbyes to his brother. When Itachi's black boots disappeared from sight, he sunk into the couch once more, grabbed the journal Kakashi had given him, and began to write.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

_One hundred three . . . one hundred four . . . one hundred five . . ._

Breathing in . . . out . . . in . . . out.

_One hundred eight . . . one hundred nine . . . one hundred ten . . ._

"Just a little more," he told himself. "Two hundred is all I need."

A cat hissed as it was nearly trodden by Sasuke's moving feet. It raised its tail, bared its teeth, and warily slunk down the stairs once more. Sasuke ignored it and kept moving.

_One hundred fifteen . . . sixteen . . . seventeen . . ._

Sasuke's aching feet caved beneath him and he tripped, flying face forwards into the concrete. Upon instinctive reflexes, he thrust his hands in front of him to pillow his fall, but didn't escape unharmed. His non-prosthetic knee hit painfully into a stair and he yelped in pain.

"Shit!"

Blinking away the tears of pain, he stared to the flight of stairs he had been formerly jogging up. He was on the fourth floor. Three more flights and he would make it to his house. However, the pain shooting viciously through his left thigh told him he wasn't about to go anywhere tonight. That, and the fact that his _real_ leg was throbbing painfully from overexertion.

The elevator was only a few feet away . . .

He _refused_ to crawl! No way beneath _any_ circumstance would he get on his hands and knees and _crawl!_

_Fine,_ he told himself. _I'll just stay here until I feel better._

A nagging feeling in his gut, however, kept coming back. His mother was still upstairs in her bedroom, sick from the fever. She had pleaded for one more day to be able to see if the fever would recede before going to the doctor, so Itachi and Sasuke had agreed. But Itachi was out and would not be coming home until . . .

. . . Wait, what time was it?

Either way, Sasuke urged his leg's recovery so that he would at least be able to hop towards the elevator, upstairs, and to his sick mother. He tried to slowly stretch his left leg to relieve the muscle he had pulled but found that he had no strength to lift it himself.

Five minutes . . .

Ten minutes . . .

Twenty minutes . . .

Sasuke was beginning to feel dizzy. He'd worn himself out too much. His right leg was still throbbing painfully and when he tried to stand, it would wobble; his left leg would ache in dangerous protest, and he would sit down before he would fall once more.

In rage, he punched the concrete stairs of his apartment and rested his head against the cool metal of the railing.

"Just my luck," he said. "Perfect, perfect luck."

It was, in fact, just his luck.

Someone was coming up the stairs.

Sasuke ignored whoever it was that was coming, not trying to get into a better position that didn't completely block the stairs. But someone's voice sliced his thoughts like a serrated knife with a single word.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke quickly jerked up to stare into the eyes of his brother. He tried to move, but the pain shooting in his knee brought him back to his situation.

"Itachi! You're early!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "Early?" he said. "It's one in the morning. You've got school tomorrow and you spent the day jogging?"

"I guess I lost track of time –"

"Lost track of time?" Itachi quickly interrupted. His voice was steady, but from years of experience, Sasuke could hear the anger rising in it. "Sasuke, I left at _six._ That was _seven_ hours ago. You left mother alone for _seven_ hours."

Sasuke stared at the hole in the knee of his pants. He played with the frays, waiting for Itachi to get on with the rest of the lecture.

"Come on," was all his older brother said. "The elevator isn't working again."

"I . . ." Sasuke kept picking at the frays. "I can't walk."

Itachi's eyebrow rose once more. "Why not?"

"I pulled a muscle. And I wore out my other leg."

Itachi sighed. It was going to be a long night. Without warning Sasuke, he slid his arms beneath his brother's immobile knees and his bony back and lifted him from the concrete stairs.

"Hey!" cried Sasuke. "Warn me before you do that!"

"My apologies," Itachi said sarcastically in monotone. "Your Highness shall be lifted from his throne."

"Peasant."

"I see the aliens forgot to remove your anal probe when they brought you to Earth."

"I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed opponent."

"If you weren't in pain already, I'd put you in some."

"I love you, too, Itachi."

Itachi struggled a bit with Sasuke when he reached into his pocket to pull out the key, but managed to get the door open. He dropped Sasuke unceremoniously onto the couch and headed into his mother's room.

"Hey!" cried Sasuke. "You're supposed to help me stretch my leg!"

Itachi suddenly came rushing out of the room.

"It's about time –"

But Sasuke cut himself off when he realized that Itachi's face looked panicked. The elder brother grabbed the wireless phone from its base and dialed a number. A familiar number. Whilst dialing, he ran around the room in search of something.

"Lady Tsunade? Yes, it's Itachi. No, Sasuke's alright. It's my mother."

"Mom?!" Sasuke suddenly exclaimed. He struggled to slide off of the couch and managed to, but could not bring himself to his feet. "Is she alright? Itachi, what's going on?"

"I'm bringing her over to the hospital immediately and I want you to see her. Are you busy? Alright. I'll meet you in ten minutes."

He shut the phone off, threw it carelessly onto the squashy armchair in the corner, and pulled a pair of keys off of the coffee table.

"Itachi, tell me what's going on!" demanded Sasuke. He was still struggling to his feet. The pain made his eyes water.

"Sasuke, stay here, okay?"

"Itachi!"

"Everything's perfectly fine, alright? I'm just going to bring mother to the hospital for a little checkup."

Before Sasuke could interrogate him further, he had disappeared into the room. Sasuke tried desperately to return to his feet, but both his legs crumpled with pressure.

Itachi appeared once again, but this time with a limp Mikoto in his arms. Sasuke's eyes widened in fear, panic, and shock. The way Mikoto's limp hand waved back and forth and the way Itachi desperately tried to balance her in his arms . . . something was terribly wrong.

"Itachi, what's wrong with mom?" he whispered in shock. Itachi merely kept walking forwards, their mother's unconscious form in his arms. "Itachi, what's wrong with mom?!"

Silence.

"Answer me!"

Sasuke really tried to struggle this time. He lifted himself up to a pathetic position using his arms and collapsed to the floor once more. Still, he tried. He tried once more . . . and once more . . . collapsing and demanding to know what was wrong with their mother.

Itachi paused and stared at him with eyes he loathed. Eyes with an expression – _finally_ an expression – that he wanted to gouge.

Pity.

"Don't look at me that way!" Sasuke demanded. "Don't you _dare_ look at me that way!"

Itachi gently placed his mother's figure on a nearby armchair and turned to his brother. "Sasuke, calm down," he said. "I'm just taking mother to the hospital. You need your rest for school tomorrow."

"I don't _need_ rest. What I _need_ is to know what the _hell_ is going on!"

Itachi sighed, disappeared for a while, and came out with one hand behind his back. Sasuke clawed at the cushions of the couch in his desperation to stand, watching Itachi advance on him.

"Forgive me, Sasuke," was all Itachi said.

Sasuke felt his brother's strong grip on his wrist, pulling out his bare arm. Something painful was inserted into the hollow of his elbow and liquid was coursing through his veins.

"You bastard," he hissed before his eyes rolled back.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Wake up."

It was a simple order that Sasuke did not want to comply.

"It's time for school."

That didn't help the cause.

"There's a bucket of ice water waiting for you."

"It's summer, you dolt."

"It's good to know you're awake."

Sasuke grumbled, obviously infuriated, and turned over in his – _When did I get into bed? _Itachi was quick to move away from him and begin to walk out of Sasuke's bedroom. Waving a hand lazily, he said, "We'll be walking. Hurry and get dressed so you can come down to breakfast."

"Where's mom?"

That made Itachi stop. Sasuke was still seething.

"Did you have a good night's rest?"

"Don't change the subject, you bastard! You sedated me!"

"You were getting out of control."

"I couldn't _move!"_

"You needed rest after three weeks of insomnia."

_"Where's mom?"_

"Hospitalized." Itachi turned around. "Lady Tsunade is taking care of her now. She'll be fine. If things go well, she will be released this afternoon. It's just an overnight checkup."

Sasuke didn't notice the truth the lie hid. Instead, he turned wearily to stare at the digital clock at his bedside.

_6:30._

"You need to get there a bit early to register. Now come on. I put your prosthesis in its charger. How's your leg?"

Sasuke, still angry at his older brother, refused to grace him with an answer. He still fumed even as he reached over the side of his bed to unhook his prosthesis from its charger. He still fumed even as he hobbled from his bedside, prosthesis in hand, to take a shower. Even _out_ of the shower, when he'd hooked his prosthesis into place and wore nothing but a towel around his waist as he looked at his skinny self in the broken mirror of his closet, he _still_ fumed.

But he hadn't had sleep in three weeks.

Fair enough.

Putting on any random clothing (because Sasuke really didn't care about making a good first impression), he walked, barefoot, from his room in loose-fitting jeans and a plain, dark blue-green shirt. Itachi was at the dining room table placing two plates of waffles on the holey table cloth.

"You're registered to take the bus, but you can walk when you want to," said Itachi, who was already dressed. Sasuke grumbled a reply and stabbed his waffle.

"Kakashi will be there if you need any help. You'll be getting your schedule from him."

Grumble.

"I've got your lunch made: five cherry tomatoes, pretzel sticks, and a peanut-butter sandwich."

Grumble.

"Track tryouts for the long-distance team are today."

Sasuke's eyes averted from their waffles to Itachi's face.

Track.

He'd been the star of his team at his old school, in long-distance especially. His coach said that if he was to continue, he could possibly beat a world record of some sort. But ever since his leg . . .

"I'll be late," was all he said as he stuffed the entirety of his waffle into his mouth, swung an empty bag (save for Kakashi's journal, a pen, and a pencil) over his shoulder, and walked to the door to put on his shoes. He roamed the house for a bit, taking his lunch, an extra pair of clothes for the tryouts, and trying not to choke on his waffle.

"Manners, Sasuke."

Grumble.

Itachi sighed, smirked, and shook his head.

"Bag?" he asked.

"Check."

"Supplies?"

"Check."

"Lunch?"

"Check."

"Good, let's go."

"Wait." Sasuke bit his lip, remembering something. "Boogeyman-repellant-headgear, check?"

Itachi raised a slim eyebrow. "You still remember that?"

"I'll never forget it."

"Well then," said Itachi, taking a blinding, neon orange bowl hat from the coat rack. "We should get going."

On the way down, he placed the hat atop his head, and said, "And that's a check."

Mikoto, loving the color, had willed her sons to let her buy something for them like her neon hat. Itachi had chosen a hat, not caring who looked at him strangely. Sasuke had gone for something more subtle: shoelaces.

He had to admit, though, he _did_ like them.

They passed their car on the walk. Itachi always suggested they walk for Sasuke's benefit, and also the benefit that they wouldn't waste too much money on the gas prices that were continuously rising. It was to be used for emergencies only.

Their car wasn't exactly a Bentley. It wasn't exactly a donkey cart, either. With their money, they'd reasonably bought an old, fading red Ford. They rarely used it. It was more of a car for long distances than for luxury.

_School_, Sasuke said, placing his hands inside of his pocket. _Is it the same? Lunatics for kids? Mystery meat?_

He stared at Itachi for a brief moment, taking in his brother's straight posture and serene expression.

_Itachi . . . he graduated a year ago . . ._

Yet his brother was still walking right next to him.

_He told me he got a full scholarship to Oxford. And Harvard. And Princeton. Yet . . ._

During those three months of rehabilitation, Sasuke remembered all the information Itachi told him of his six months of loss.

_He . . . didn't take the scholarship. He never told me why. Now I know._

Sasuke frowned.

_Because of me._

His brows furrowed.

_Because he knew mom wouldn't have been able to take care of me by herself. So he turned down his scholarships. His education. Because dad died._

"Is something troubling you, Sasuke?"

_Dad died because of me. Because I was worthless. He said it himself. He tried to kill me and committed suicide as well. Because I was a pathetic, worthless son that had become a failure. He couldn't have a failure of a son. So he tried to . . . to kill _me.

"Sasuke?"

_Everything in my life is going wrong because it's _my_ fault. I'm the screw up._

_Mother . . . she's in the hospital because of me, too! I left her alone and – what if she dies and it's my fault? What if –_

Itachi shoved him roughly to get his attention. Sasuke averted his eyes to his brother.

"I've been calling your name on the entire walk."

Oh. He could see the school in the distance. A few cars, both new in style and old, were parked out front, but no students were seen.

"Is something wrong?"

"I'm just . . . worried about the track meet, is all," Sasuke quickly lied. Itachi didn't seem convinced, but he went with it anyway.

"With all the training you've done, you're probably better than you were before."

"Right . . ."

_My fault._

"You know, mother's perfectly fine."

_It's as if he could hear me think!_

"It's not your fault that she's in the hospital right now."

"But I left her alone, Itachi!" Sasuke quickly retorted. "If I hadn't, I probably would've been able to call you and get her hospitalized _sooner!"_

Itachi stayed silent, obviously not telling his brother a larger part of the problem.

The teenagers that were already there turned their heads simultaneously, as if they had planned it, as Sasuke and Itachi walked towards the front doors of the school. Sasuke chose not to glare back, despite how much he wanted to. Itachi merely kept walking forth, emotionless as always.

As Sasuke expected, whispers broke out behind their backs. There were girlish squeals and boyish groans, and even a catcall to which Sasuke turned around fiercely, glared at the boy who had done it (a boy with unusually large canines, slanted eyes, and ruffled chocolate hair), and continued walking when the boy shrunk back.

How pitiful these new people at Shodai High would be.

"This, I believe you know, is Mr. Sarutobi's office," said Itachi, gesturing to the wooden door affront of him. Sasuke nodded, remembering it from the tour he'd taken two days ago.

Itachi knocked once.

_"Come in."_

The doorknob was turned and the door was opened. There stood Kakashi, beaming maniacally.

"Early as I said," he said, standing aside to let them through. Itachi bowed and entered. Sasuke grumbled and followed suit.

Sasuke turned to stare at the leather chairs lined in front of their principal's desk. The principal himself sat in his own high-backed chair, fiddling with an unlit pipe and stroking his short, white beard occasionally. One of the chairs in front of him was occupied by a shag of spiky blond hair. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Good morning, Mr. Sarutobi," said Itachi. "I'm here to check Sasuke in."

Sarutobi smiled warmly. Sasuke noticed that he had perfect dentures.

_Ew . . ._

The head of blond didn't move.

"Please, have a seat," said Sarutobi. "I'd like to introduce you to your guide for the week, Sasuke."

_Please no, please no, please no!_

They were walking to their chairs now and Sasuke got a clear look at the boy in the leather chair. He was slumped in his seat, one hand supporting his cheek, and his eyes were lidded, looking bored, but soft snores gave off a sleeping vibe (_He sleeps with his eyes open?!)_. Sasuke could see azure eyes. Their color reminded him of something . . .

_With the sun rolling high, through the sapphire sky . . . _[1]

"Sasuke, meet Uzumaki Naruto."

**::Short Story::  
****How Kakashi got his Ring Tone**

"Genma, what the hell are you doing in my house?"

Kakashi opened the door to his home to find Genma sitting there, a beer in one hand and the television remote in his other. Pakkun was sleeping on the carpet affront of him.

_Stupid, good-for-nothing dog._

"I got lonely and needed some company," said Genma. "Did you know you have over five hundred channels?"

Kakashi closed the door and set his keys on the table to the side. Genma simply continued to stare at the television. Baywatch® was on.

"I'd prefer if you didn't watch my television and drink my beers in _my_ house. Go _home_, Genma. Spend your last month of vacation with someone _other_ than me!"

"But I love you, Kakashi!" Genma replied, going into a poorly-ushered puppy-dog pout. Kakashi was unfazed, but he sighed and went into his kitchen.

Genma saw that he'd placed his phone down on the coffee table. Wiggling his eyebrows, he picked it up.

"Got a girlfriend, Hatake?" he whispered to himself, going straight to the messages.

Kakashi's cell phone, however, did not feel like cooperating. It was overly-complex and had several buttons on it. Genma wasn't sure what to do. He clicked an image in hopes that it was the one he wanted.

The language wasn't in English; it was Slavic. Wondering _why_ the hell Kakashi changed his cell phone's settings to Slavic (and wondering why the language options had Slavic in the first place), Genma randomly clicked anything. Before the screen could come on, the phone started ringing. Genma read the name displayed as _Itachi._

"Hey stupid!" he called. "Itachi's calling! Hey _stupid_, Itachi's _calling!_ Pick up the phone!"

Later, Kakashi discovered that Genma's voice had been recorded. Wanting to delete it, he prepared himself to, but Genma came flying over the couch with a cry similar to that of a strangled chimpanzee.

"It's _me_!" he screamed. "Save me! Send me! I have a sexy voice, don't I?"

"Get _off_, Genma!"

"Hey Hatake, why's your phone Slavic?"

"So idiots like you can't get to it! Move your ass!"

Genma pried the phone from Kakashi's hands and clicked every button he could find. There was a short beep, a pause, and then a voice that said "_Your phone's settings have been changed."_

The next time Itachi called, Kakashi heard that ring tone.

He never changed it.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

[1] - From the song the "Circle of Life". It's just something I always remember whenever I think of Naruto's eyes.


	3. Tomorrow

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I still think my manga would sell better.

**Author's Note:** Hooray! Naruto's in this chapter!

There really isn't much to say in the author's note, now is there? Oh, except for the fact that I'm really confused. 5,000 hits and only 8 people feel the need to review? But I want those 5,000 people to enjoy my chapters. Reviwing isn't as important as knowing 5,000 people actually came to read.

So read on!

Oh, and the prosthetic leg is an _actual_ type. I did research on it.

**Chapter 3  
**…**:::Tomorrow:::…  
****Annie**

"Sasuke, meet Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke stared at the boy. _This_ was supposed to guide him through the school for a _week?_ _Why?_

The boy shifted, mumbled, and Sasuke caught sight of six whisker-like marks, three on each cheek.

He refused.

But, of course, he didn't speak out loud.

Kakashi laughed nervously, one hand rubbing his neck. "I guess he didn't get a good night's sleep," he apologized. "Naruto, wake up."

Mumble.

"I'll buy you some ramen."

This seemed to wake Naruto up completely. The blond jerked forward, eyes alert, yelling, "Ramen!" Upon seeing Sasuke and Itachi, he squinted, searched his head, and then remembered. Standing up, he outstretched his hand to Sasuke. "Uzumaki Naruto!" he exclaimed, grinning.

Sasuke looked at his hand as if it had hair growing on the palm [1]. Naruto's smile faltered, but he turned to Itachi, and the two shook hands.

"Lady Tsunade herself has asked that her grandchild be the one to do the job, since she knows Sasuke well," continued Sarutobi.

_Her __**grandchild?!**_

"Well, Sasuke?" said Itachi. "I must be going. I've got quite a bit of work to do. Good day, Mr. Sarutobi. Naruto." He tipped his hat at the mention of their names before turning to Sasuke. "Little brother."

"You put her up to this," Sasuke hissed as Itachi passed him.

Itachi smirked.

"Itachi . . .?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

Naruto grinned and pointed to his own neon orange shirt. "I like your hat."

"Touché."

When the door closed behind him, Sarutobi clasped his hands together on the surface of his desk. "I'm sure we can all learn to get along fine and become friends, correct?"

Sasuke grumbled.

Naruto grinned.

"That's the spirit! Sasuke, here is you schedule for the day. If there's any trouble, don't hesitate to ask."

_Would it be trouble to ask for a brick? A nice, heavy, red brick. Just heavy enough to cave the side of my head in._

"Off you go, boys."

Sasuke was the first one out of the room. He quickly scanned the halls for any sign of other students, but the bell hadn't rung yet. Before Naruto would have the time to catch up, he hastily moved towards his first class: Chemistry.

"Hey, wait up!"

Just his luck. It was Naruto, he was sure. He didn't even have to turn around to know. Why? Oh, because he knew the way his life worked now.

Someone grabbed for his shoulder. Surprised by the sudden touch, Sasuke jerked out of it and turned around to stare right into sapphire eyes.

"What's got you so worked up?" said Naruto, still smiling. Sasuke wondered if he ever frowned. "This school is really nice, with lots of friendly people that are waiting to meet you!"

Sasuke's eyes clearly said _Get to the point, damn it!_

He took note of the boy's attire. Naruto's khaki shorts were made of rare material, shining like satin, but rigid like jeans. Sasuke recognized the brand immediately: Rasengan©, the most expensive clothing line ever to appear on the face of the earth. His boots, despite looking like combat boots, were made of fine leather: Surswoc© [2], the most expensive _shoe_ line in the entire universe. Sasuke didn't even want to look at the boy's neon orange shirt and black over shirt, knowing they'd be some famous brand as well . . . and they were: Jounin Jump©.

The boy was _rolling_ in dough.

Sasuke had a sudden loathing for him.

Without any comment, he turned around and walked off. Naruto, who wasn't done talking, followed him.

"It's rude to do that, you know," the blond confronted him, frowning at last. "I'm just trying to be nice."

_Go be nice to someone who cares._

Sasuke stopped in front of his Chemistry classroom and did not knock. He merely opened the unlocked door. The classroom was plain and deserted. He took a seat anyway.

Naruto sat right behind him.

"Don't you speak? Are you a mute?"

"Lay off my back, blondie," Sasuke growled. "No one told you you _had_ to baby-sit me."

"_Granny_ told me," Naruto retorted, his smile now permanently removed. "I volunteered, but even then, she'll take away my allowance if I _don't."_

_"_Cry me a river."

Naruto growled deeply, challenging Sasuke's. He stood directly in front of Sasuke's desk and slammed down hard with his bare palms. "You're familiar. Aren't you an Uchiha?"

Blink. Blink.

"You _must be."_

"What gave it away?" Sasuke said with a sneer. "My obvious intelligence compared to your lack of?"

"You ungrateful jerk!" he said.

"Ungrateful?" spat Sasuke, breaking his silent technique and looking him directly in the eye. "What did you do so I can be _grateful?_ Oh, excuse me, kind sir. Thank you _loads_ for annoying the _hell_ out of me!"

Bright lights suddenly obscured Sasuke's vision and he felt something solid hit his side. When his eyes refocused, he realized he'd been punched and he'd fallen to the floor.

Naruto had _punched _him.

"You Uchihas are all the same! I hate you _all!_"

_All?_

Sasuke lay on the floor for a while, feeling the blood from his split lip slide down his chin. Naruto was in the background, breathing with the intensity of a bull seeing red. When Sasuke did not get up for a few minutes, Naruto's hesitating voice rung out in the empty room.

"Hey . . . are you alright?"

Silence.

"I didn't mean to, uh, hit you. I have a short fuse and you sort of just . . . Maybe I was wrong . . . Sasuke, was it? Do you need a nurse?"

And suddenly, Naruto was pinned up against the wall.

Sasuke breathed deeply, trying his best not to lose complete composure. How _dare_ this boy _punch_ him?!

"You spoiled brat," Sasuke hissed in an ominous whisper. "You fucking, rotten bastard, how _dare_ you punch me?!"

"Let go of me!" Naruto replied, struggling to get free of the vicegrip Sasuke had on his shirt.

"I'm going to give you a lesson on how to punch people, Uzumaki," continued Sasuke in the same quiet voice. "And maybe, but only if you're a _good_ boy, I'll give you a lesson in manners, hm?"

"What is it that we have here, boys?"

Sasuke clenched his jaw, but did not turn around, nor did he release Naruto. He could _feel_ Kakashi's presence behind him, but the man wasn't the one that had spoken. The one that had spoken had a deeper, gruffer voice.

"Just making new friends, Asuma," Naruto spat bitterly.

"When you're in school, it's _Mr._ Asuma to you," the voice replied.

"Sasuke, please let go of Naruto."

_That_ was Kakashi.

Sasuke didn't budge.

"Sasuke, you've got three seconds to let go of him."

_Shut up already._

"You. My office. _Now._"

Sasuke growled. He slammed Naruto once into the wall before allowing the boy his freedom, turning on the heels of his worn shoes and facing Kakashi. The man beside him was glaring at Sasuke, an unlit cigarette in his mouth.

"Not a very good first impression, Uchiha," he said.

"I never intended to make one."

Kakashi frowned beneath his facial mask and his eyes furrowed. He reached out and grabbed Sasuke's shoulder to lead him away. "You're in for it, Sasuke."

The second they set foot into Kakashi's office, Kakashi exploded.

"What the _hell_ were you thinking?!"

"What about the people of this school?!" retorted Sasuke. "What were _they_ thinking when they brought that blond brat to _help_ me?!"

"Do you know who Naruto _is?"_

"Lady Tsunade's grandkid."

"And do you know _why_ they call her _Lady_ Tsunade?"

"Because she's mayor."

"Correct. Sasuke, have you ever heard of Namikaze Minato, by any chance?"

Sasuke could tell Kakashi was trying his best to remain calm, so he tried to as well. He calmly nodded his head. "One of the wealthiest businessmen on the face of the earth."

"So you _do_ know him," said Kakashi. "Well now, I'd like to reintroduce you to his _son_, Uzumaki Naruto."

Sasuke stayed silent, processing the information. Uzumaki Naruto.

Yeah, he still hated him.

"I still hate him."

Kakashi sighed and placed a hand over his eyes. "Fighting in the _first hour_ of school!" he exclaimed. "Sometimes you can be so pathetic, Sasuke."

Pathetic.

_Pathetic._

_"You pathetic, worthless son!"_

_"Die, die, I want to die!"_

Worthless.

His fault.

_My fault._

Sasuke's face fell. He frowned and slumped back so his back hit the wall, placing his hands in his pockets.

"I'm going to ask Naruto and Asuma to let this one go, since it's your first day, but I can't prevent it always, got it?"

Sasuke said nothing. He wasn't listening.

_My fault._

"Don't look so down, Sasuke," said Kakashi, misinterpreting the boy's depression. "You should head back to Chemistry before the bell rings. You don't want to get caught in the hustle and bustle of the teenagers here."

Sasuke slunk from the room without a word.

_I'm pathetic,_ he thought. _I'm worthless. I ruin everyone's life, _especially_ Itachi's._

Blood still ran down his chin and he absentmindedly rubbed it away. It had been a hard punch. He wouldn't be surprised if a bruise was beginning to form.

Naruto was sitting atop a desk when Sasuke entered, speaking animatedly to Asuma, who stood behind his own desk at the front of the class. The two stopped in their sentences briefly to watch Sasuke slink into a chair by the window and bow his head.

"You alright, kid?"

"Be careful, Asuma, he might bite you."

_My fault._

"Uh, you want to go to the nurse for that bruise?"

Silence.

"Do you want to make a noise so I don't have to call an ambulance?"

Silence.

Asuma moved from behind his desk to walk forwards and kneel in front of Sasuke's desk. He watched the boy closely, taking note of a scar that ran from the end of his collarbone and disappeared beneath his shirt.

"Uchiha, was it?"

_My fault._

"Do you need to see a doctor?"

_My fault. My fault. "MY FAULT!"_

"Whoa, whoa, it's not your fault, whatever you're talking about!" Asuma said quickly, surprised by the sudden outburst.

Sasuke's eyes, completely blank with emotion, suddenly stared into Asuma's chocolate ones.

"I'm sorry," he said. "Did you say something?"

Asuma exchanged glances with Naruto. The blond spun a finger around his ear, indicating that he thought Sasuke was insane. To be honest, Asuma thought so as well, which was why he made Naruto bring Kakashi.

The silver-haired man knelt down in front of Sasuke's desk as well. Sasuke's eyes were on him, but they weren't _seeing_ him.

"Sasuke, how do you spell 'cat'?"

"What kind of question is that?" asked Naruto from his position.

"Sasuke, Itachi is dying. You have three seconds to save him."

Silence.

"Does he have any . . . mental problems?" Asuma asked quietly.

"Trauma," Kakashi whispered back. "Lots of it."

"You brought a mental case to school?" said Naruto. "Isn't that dangerous?"

"Sasuke is the furthest thing from dangerous and the closest thing to stable. Something must have triggered this. How long until the first bell rings?"

"Three minutes."

"That's enough time."

Kakashi carefully removed the catatonic Sasuke from his seat and laid him on the floor, beckoning the other two occupants over to him.

"Naruto, Asuma, I need you to hold down his arms."

Naruto raised his eyebrows and complied after a few seconds of internal debating. Asuma immediately clasped Sasuke's thin arm and pinned it to the ground.

"Uh . . . just, keep holding him, okay?"

Kakashi clenched his teeth beneath his mask, drew his fist back . . . and punched Sasuke.

It snapped the boy from his thoughts immediately. In the time it took Naruto to blink, he was suddenly jerking forwards, his teeth bared in a feral imitation and his eyes absolutely wild. The lurch had almost made Naruto release Sasuke's flailing arm, but he held on tightly.

And slowly, realization dawned onto Sasuke. He blinked his obsidian eyes and looked from the shocked Naruto, to the confused Asuma, to the tired-looking Kakashi.

"Kaka . . . shi?" he asked, puzzled. His jaw ached terribly and he closed his eyes to try and escape the pain. "What's going on?"

_Ring, ring, ring!_

Asuma and Naruto released Sasuke and with Kakashi's help, he stood on his own two feet, slightly dizzied from the force of the two punches. Blood dribbled down his chin incessantly now.

"Why . . .?"

"Catatonia," whispered Kakashi. "I want you to come at lunch to speak to me, is that understood?"

Sasuke nodded, still confused. Asuma was back at his desk, greeting classmates that were coming in. Naruto still stood, shocked.

"We should take you to the nurse for that," said Kakashi, pointing to the growing bruise and dribbling blood on Sasuke's pale face.

Sasuke shook his head, muttering that he was okay.

"Come on, Sasuke. It'll be only for a few minutes."

"Kakashi!"

Sasuke's eyes were now locked onto Kakashi's, switching moods like a pregnant woman. Kakashi put his hands up in defeat.

He wouldn't dare show a sign of weakness affront of strangers, let alone Naruto. Kakashi bid him good luck and goodbye before turning to the mad rush of students. "Yo!" he said cheerfully, to which several students replied "Kakashi!"

Naruto cast one last, wary glance at Sasuke (who was now looking out the window) and sat down in a desk in the third row. Several girls that had just entered were pointing at Sasuke and giggling behind their hands.

_Do they honestly think I don't notice?_

"Hey, Asuma! We've got a new kid?"

_I'm still in the room, damn it._

"Hold your horses, Inuzuka. Wait until class begins."

Sasuke found a shadow looming over his desk a few seconds later and looked up into light chocolate eyes and a bored expression.

"Would you mind moving?" the boy asked. "This has been my seat since the beginning of the year."

To the boy's surprise, Sasuke stood up and moved to the desk affront of the one he had been previously sitting in. The boy sat down, but he leaned forward and said, "You know, if you're a man, you're supposed to stand your ground."

"I'm not looking for a fight," Sasuke replied wearily.

The boy watched Sasuke wipe away the blood on his mouth.

"Neither am I." He sighed and stared out the window. "It's so troublesome."

Sasuke spared a glance at where Naruto sat. The blond had already recovered from his shock and was now speaking to the large group of boys and girls gathered around him, hanging on his every word.

"Hey Naruto!" one of the boys spoke up suddenly. "My birthday's coming up soon! Are you going to get me anything?"

"Sure, Kenji!"

_Rich __**and**__ oblivious . . ._

The bell that signaled the start of classes rang and students quickly hurried to their seats. Asuma cleared his throat.

"Alright, hopefully everyone had a brutal weekend, right?"

The class replied with groans.

"Good!" Asuma continued brightly. "Now that that's over, get your homework out on your desks, turn to page one hundred six, and read about the experimental preparation for number eight as review. Tomorrow, you'll be working on the experiment. Pick partners now, or forever be doomed."

"What about the new kid?"

It was the same boy that Sasuke had glared at. Sasuke thought he deserved another glare, but conserved his energy. His head was _pounding_!

"Yeash, Inuzuka. Leave the kid alone!"

"What's his name?" a random girl shouted from the crowd.

"Where's he from?"

"Hi, new guy!"

Sasuke ignored them all.

"Alright, why don't you introduce yourself?" asked Asuma.

Sasuke glared at them all.

"Ooh, the silent type!" another random girl exclaimed with a squeal. "I _love_ those kinds!"

"We were _so_ made for each other."

Asuma glanced awkwardly around the room at Sasuke's lack of speech, one hand rubbing the back of his neck. "Alright, class, this here's Uchiha Sasuke, and he just moved –"

"Uchiha, Uchiha?! As in _the_ Uchihas? One of the _richest_ estates _ever?!"_

_If only they knew . . ._

"Oh my gosh, he _is!_"

Asuma quickly got his class under control before the girls could break out into synchronized squeals. During their study time, the girls were not paying attention at all. They spent their time doodling hearts around Sasuke's name, drawing future marriage plans, and batting their eyelashes at his indifferent figure.

"Uchiha, come up here for a sec," said Asuma from his desk.

It was as if he was on the Red Carpet and the students were paparazzi. The entire short-distanced walk to Asuma's desk seemed like a mile long with everyone's stares at his back.

_"He's so skinny!"_ someone whispered.

_"Maybe he's a model or something."_

_"Check out his eyes. It's like he's a zombie or something."_

_"Yeah, a totally hot zombie!"_

_"Squee!"_

_"And that bruise! That's a killer! He must have gotten into a fight!"_

_"He's so strong . . ."_

_"He isn't _that_ great."_

Sasuke grimaced and continued to walk, glancing at his prosthetic leg concealed beneath his pants to see if it was noticeable. Asuma thrust a textbook into his hands when he reached his desk.

"Since it's January 4th, they'll be taking their exams next week, which you're excused from, so you won't need to know anything for a while," explained Asuma. "But the new semester starts after that. Kakashi told me your intellectual level is high, probably almost as high as Shikamaru if he picked up a pencil." He paused, looking over Sasuke's shoulders. "Hold on for a second."

Still seated in his wheeling chair, Asuma reached behind him for a chalk eraser. He aimed over Sasuke's shoulder, positioned himself, and then threw the eraser. Sasuke, as well as the class, watched it sail and hit the boy that Sasuke had previously spoken to. He had been drooling over his textbook.

The class laughed when the eraser made contact and the boy lifted his head drowsily.

"Oi, Shikamaru!" shouted Asuma. "Get your lazy butt working or you'll fail this semester!" He turned back to Sasuke. "Anyway, just sit back and relax for two weeks, okay? I'll find something productive for you to do."

Sasuke nodded and returned to his seat, completely aware of the stares and whispers that followed.

Halfway through the class, most of the students began to doze off. A girl in the back with her lavender-styled (_Lavender? _thought Sasuke. _What the hell?)_ French-like raised her hand.

"Hinata?"

"Um, Mr. Asuma, sir," she began in a quiet whisper. "We've all read it six times."

Asuma rubbed his bearded chin. "I didn't think you guys would be quick readers," he said with a grin. "Anyone have any ideas?"

"Free time!"

"Sit your butt down, Inuzuka. It's got to be something that makes you think."

"We can calculate how much time we have left?"

"Kiba, I will personally see to your death."

Inuzuka Kiba sat back down in his chair with the sticking of his tongue.

"Alright, I've got an idea: puzzles."

The class groaned.

"Oh come on, you lazy bums. Get your minds working! These are puzzles that test where your intellect level is, although I can already see where it is . . ."

"Alright, Mr. Asuma." It was Naruto that spoke. "We'll take your challenge. If one of us, _not_ including Shikamaru, solves the puzzle, we get an entire free period next class."

"And if you don't?"

Naruto looked around the class, wiggling his eyebrows. They laughed. "We'll do all fifty review questions in the back of the book."

"Naruto!" a girl from the back shouted. Sasuke looked at her, turned away, and then had to look at her again just to make sure . . .

Yeah, she definitely had pink hair.

"Have you _seen_ our class?!"

"Oh, come on, Sakura," replied Naruto. "You're smart!"

"Have you seen the puzzles Mr. Asuma is going to give us?"

She pointed to the board where Asuma was, in fact, already beginning to write several different puzzles from a book laid out on his desk:

_There are sixty-four homes, all with children waiting for the arrival of Santa. Santa wants to start at the Tucker house and end with the Mustang house, and in between, his route should always be in a straight line, moving horizontally or vertically from house to house, never backtracking, or crossing any previous line of flight. Can you help Santa draw a flight plan?_

Beneath the question, there were sixty-four squares that Asuma labeled as houses: eight going across, and eight going vertically. The top left was labeled _Tucker_ and instead of the bottom right, it was the bottom, but one space before the end of the right side that was labeled _Mustang_.

_Draw the figure below with one continuous line, but without lifting your pencil from the paper._

This problem had a plain circle drawn with a hole directly in the center, but no lines attaching to the hole.

_In the picture below, we have a portion of the alphabet. Some of the letters are above the line and some are below the line. You are to write the remaining letters, placing them correctly either above or below the line. Figure out the pattern._

Letters A – P were placed on a board, some of them over a straight line and some below. A was first, above the line, then BCD below the line, EF above, G below, HI above, J below, KLMN above, and OP below. When the letters were below the line, a space was left _above_ the line to indicate where they were in the alphabet, and vice versa.

"Mr. Asuma, stop," said Kiba. "I think my brain died."

"One more puzzle, Inuzuka."

_Arrange these four 7's in such a manner that they shall total exactly 100._

There were only four sevens.

"Someone has to answer _all_ of these correctly in order to win," Asuma said as he turned around, wiping his hands from the chalk. "Even a single wrong answer means I win the bet."

"We're counting on you, Sakura," Naruto said to the pink-haired girl. He then turned to stare in Sasuke's direction. Sasuke was ready to administer a glare, but Naruto's eyes swept over him to Shikamaru. "Oi!" he shouted. "Pick up a pencil, lazy bum, and then you can sleep all you want in class _tomorrow!"_

Shikamaru grumbled in his sleep and turned his head.

Kiba slammed his head against his desk. "We're doomed!" Asuma gave a maniacal laugh, sat down, and began to read through the book.

The clock began ticking even louder, Sasuke noticed. They had thirty minutes left to solve all four puzzles, all of which looked extremely easy. Knowing he had nothing better to do, he ripped a page from his journal, clicked his pen, and began to write.

In a matter of minutes, Sasuke had the first puzzle done.

It had been a simple puzzle, really. He started from Tucker's house, moved right to cover all the houses, down one, left to cover all the houses once more, down from there to cover all houses again, over three, up three, right two, down one, left one, down two, right one, up one, right one, up three, left four, down three, left one, up four, right six, and then down the rest of the way to Mustang's house.

Oh yes, it certainly was an easy puzzle to solve.

Somewhere across the room, Sakura broke her sixth pencil.

Sasuke didn't even need to think about the second puzzle. It was all common sense. All he needed to do was create a bridge to reach the circle in the center. He drew a complete circle, and then, without removing his pencil from the paper, he folded one corner of the paper to touch the middle, drew a random line over it, and then drew a circle in the middle.

Kiba, who had bitten off the eraser of his pencil, was now biting on it so hard, he was getting close to the lead center.

There wasn't a major pattern to the third puzzle, Sasuke thought. There wasn't any numerical value to them, either, which would have thrown off everyone had everyone been _on_ that puzzle. He first noticed the pattern when he copied the problem down.

All letters above the line, he noticed, were drawn with completely straight lines.

All letters below the line needed at least one curve to be drawn.

What _im_beciles.

Behind him, Shikamaru murmured something in his sleep about not wanting to head to P.E.

It took Sasuke a few minutes to get the last one since he tried every combination with sevens he knew. When none of them worked, he put the end of his pen to his nose, leaned forward, and thought. Addition didn't work, and subtraction would _never_ work. A mix of addition and multiplication wasn't the answer, and any possible way with division didn't work, either.

Hm . . . maybe Asuma _had_ stumped him.

Looking at the ceiling, he began making dots on his paper randomly, liking the tapping beat it gave him.

There had to be _some_ sign out there. Like pi, or perhaps a union? Was that even possible?

He looked back at his paper and smirked. There was his answer.

Everyone stopped their use (or lack of) brain power to watch as Sasuke stood up from his seat, paper in hand, and walked to Asuma's desk. Asuma stared up with an eyebrow raised.

"Need to use the bathroom, Uchiha?"

"I'm done."

_"Eh?!" _the class suddenly exclaimed in unison. Asuma's eyes widened and he stared at the clock above them.

"Are you _sure_? It's only been _eight_ minutes!"

"He probably cheated," said Naruto. "How are you to know if he didn't take his pencil off the paper?"

Asuma stood up. "Alright, Uchiha, I hope you don't mind demonstrating the problems for us and proving Uzumaki wrong."

Sasuke immediately walked to the board. Sure, he minded that everyone stared at him like some nude model on display . . . but to prove Naruto wrong? Oh, he could taste the tomato-flavored victory now . . .

He quickly skimmed through the Santa problem on the board, skipped the circle problem for then (ignoring everyone's cries that he couldn't do it), and then completed the alphabet.

"So what's the pattern?" asked Naruto, as if he knew Sasuke was lying.

"If you were a little more logical," Sasuke began, biting back all the insults he had in mind, "you'd realize that if you copied down the problem, all letters above the line use straight lines, and all letters below have at least one curve to them."

"Well done," said Asuma.

And Sasuke completed the last problem: 77 divided by .77.

"You never said we could use decimals!" exclaimed Naruto. "That's unfair!"

"I never said you couldn't, Naruto," replied Asuma. "That was sort of the point of the puzzle."

"But he didn't complete the circle problem! That doesn't count!"

"It's like you _don't_ want free time tomorrow, Naruto," Asuma said with a laugh. He turned to Sasuke. "But he _is_ right, believe it or not. That means I'm going to win the bet."

Sasuke flipped over his empty paper wordlessly and made sure Asuma, as well as Naruto, were watching him. He repeated his process he had taken before, folded the corner of the paper, and completed the puzzle.

"Well I'll be damned . . ." Asuma said in awe. "This kid's almost as bright as Shikamaru."

The class went into shocked silence. Until . . .

"Hot _and_ smart!" a girl from the back called. "He's _perfect!"_

And so, the remainder of the class was filled with girlish squeals, girlish gossip, girlish batting of the eyelashes, and glares from Naruto.

Sasuke felt rather proud, and perhaps a little cocky. He stared back at Naruto as if silently telling him, _Yes, stupid, I _am_ smarter than you._

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Naruto kept annoyingly close to Sasuke as they walked through the halls, as if he wanted to make sure his grandmother's orders were carried out, but he didn't want to get too close to the Uchiha.

"Hey Naruto, can you introduce me to your new friend?"

It was one of the squeal-y girls from class.

"He's not my friend," Naruto grumbled back.

"That's too bad." The girl winked at Sasuke. "If you want a better tour around this school, me and a couple of girls totally own it. We could show you everything."

"A couple of girls and _me_," corrected Sasuke, not turning to face her.

"No, no, I'll be there too."

Sasuke was _this_ close to hitting her! He didn't care if she was a girl, either. After all, he _did_ believe in equal rights for men and women.

"Naruto, I need your help," said another girl, running up to him. Sasuke could see her feigned panic, but he wasn't sure Naruto could.

"What is it, Ayumi?" the blond asked sincerely.

"My mom forgot to give me money to ride the bus home and I don't have any other way!"

_You've got to be kidding me!_ Sasuke mentally facepalmed himself.

"How much is it?"

"Twenty dollars."

_What?!_

Sasuke knew the bus fair, having ridden the bus several times, and it was only a dollar. A _dollar_. This girl was _obviously_ using Naruto's money, and the blond had no knowledge of bus fairs since, Sasuke suspected, he only drove the latest-modeled cars.

"Sure."

Naruto pulled out a particularly large wad of cash, took off a twenty-dollar-bill, and handed it to the girl. The girl thanked him and walked off hastily. Sasuke was left to mentally draw an image of the blond and shoot darts at it.

How oblivious could he _get?!_

"You and I have every class together, you know," said Naruto after pocketing his cash, giving socializing another shot. "Mr. Sarutobi did it on purpose. Except I've got band and you've got . . ." He wrinkled his nose. "Shop."

_That's good to know. Thank you, Mr. Obvious. Or should I say Mr. Oblivious?_

"It would be appreciated if I got a response."

_I'll make a mental note._

"I know you're probably shy, but believe me, I left all my friends today to hang out with you."

_You made a big mistake, buddy._

Naruto stopped and frowned. "I'm trying to help you out here," he said. "Work with me."

Sasuke carried on.

"Will you _answer_ me, you emotionless asshole?!"

Sasuke sped up in his pace, hoping to throw the blond off of his trail through the large crowd of gawking students. Honestly, he didn't know _what_ was so interesting to look at.

His second period door stared right at him: Psychology.

Naruto's warm, laughing breath was on the back of his neck. "You know, a mental case like you shouldn't be in a class like this."

Oh, that was _way_ out of line. Sasuke didn't think he'd sink so _low! _Sure, Naruto had tried to bring it up as a joke, but it _shouldn't_ have been joked about in the first place.

The first thing he did was glance in a millisecond around the hall for teachers.

None.

The second thing he did was place one leg behind Naruto's and push the blond boy forwards so that he fell backwards onto the floor, sprawled like spilt gelatin. The crowd of students gave a gasp in unison and suddenly rushed to help the blond on the floor.

"Mr. Uzumaki!" some of the girls cried, rushing to his aid.

Kiba pushed his way through.

"Back off, girlies! He's not a porcelain doll!" he said, finally reaching his comrade and extending an arm. "Being a klutz more than usual, Naruto?"

"That jerk _pushed_ me!"

"Sasuke?"

"No way!"

"He wouldn't do such a thing!"

Not even knowing him for a second and the girls were already making assumptions. Naruto stood on his feet, a look of pure anger on his face. Sasuke could feel Kakashi's presence rounding the corner. Why?

Because that was the way his life worked.

"You're right, Uzumaki," Sasuke said, moving so close to the blond that some of Naruto's frontal spikes brushed his forehead. "I _am_ insane. So insane that I can do what_ever_ I like. You'll want to sleep with your eyes open tonight."

"Is that a _threat?"_ Naruto hissed when Sasuke turned around.

Insert crowd gasp here.

Sasuke didn't answer him, however. He entered the open, empty Psychology classroom and already took a seat before Kakashi had the chance to find out what the fight was about.

"Is there a problem, guys?"

Yeah, that was Kakashi.

"No problem, Mr. Hatake," said Kiba from outside. "Naruto tripped on my leg. I guess I needed to watch where I was going."

"Alrighty then. Have fun."

Sasuke leaned his head forward onto his desk. The headache he was getting was practically blinding. He grabbed the edges of his desk to right himself, making sure that the room wasn't _really _spinning.

"Uchiha!"

_Mother of Golden Beanstalks, _please_ tell me that was a voice inside my head._

But the sudden lack of light in his closed eyelids meant that there was a shadow hovering over him. Sasuke was willing to bet that shadow had spiked hair.

"You signed your death wish," said Naruto. "You have no idea who you're messing with."

_Headache, headache, go away. Come again another day . . . or not._

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Someone was pulling his hair.

Someone was _pulling_ his _hair._

"The _fuck?!"_

Naruto had grabbed Sasuke's hair and yanked it so that the boy's neck craned to stare at the ceiling. What the _hell_ was _wrong_ with him?!

"You don't know when to stop!" exclaimed Sasuke angrily, feeling some of his hair follicles leave his scalp. "I could sue you for physical assault!"

"And I'd have my lawyer win the court case so fast, you'd be living on the streets in a second!"

Sasuke stood up angrily, effectively causing Naruto to release his grip on his hair, and grabbed Naruto's shirt with both hands.

"Again with the shirt!" the blond exclaimed.

"Hey, you can't touch him!" said Kiba.

"Are you supposed to be his dog?" spat Sasuke. "I don't know what you see in him!"

"I don't know what you _don't."_

"I am so sick of everyone in this school. I don't understand why you have to badger me _constantly_ when I didn't even _talk_ to you! Look at him!"

He held Naruto high in the air.

"He's a spoiled brat with a big mouth and an even _bigger_ ego!"

"You pathetic asshole!"

Again with the bright lights.

Hello again, Mr. Floor. Nice day for a spin, huh?

Sasuke didn't move for a few seconds. He was still trying to recover from the third punch he'd received that day and was clenching his teeth to not cry out in pain.

_Pathetic._

Did _everyone_ think he was?

_Worthless._

If _everyone_ thought he was, then it was true.

He _was_ pathetic.

"Naruto, he isn't moving."

"That's his technique that he tried on me before," spat Naruto. "He tries to lower my guard and then goes in for the kill."

_"Die, die! I want to die!"_

_Me too._

"Naruto, he doesn't look so good."

"I don't think it's an act."

"You hit him on his bruise. Maybe he's in pain?"

"His eyes are open."

"Is he _dead?!"_

"You killed him!"

Sasuke shakily stood up, trying his best to blink away the blurs that had entered his vision, but most of all, trying _not_ to pound Naruto's head in. He couldn't get expelled. In the small town of Konoha, this was the only high school, and to get expelled would mean that his family would have to move again. He didn't think they could handle the expenses anymore.

"I told you," said Naruto. "It's all an act."

But Sasuke stood on shaking knees, trying to bring himself to full height. Blood dripped from his mouth at an alarming rate. His eyes bore into Naruto's nonetheless. Through a mouthful of scarlet liquid, he said,

"Uzumaki Naruto. You are a dead man."

And then he turned to briskly walk away.

Naruto made a move to go after him, but Kiba held him back, thinking that with the Uchiha out of the premises, the blond would finally be back under control. That, and he thought Sasuke desperately needed a nurse. There was a line of blood that followed the boy's exit.

When Sasuke made it to the door, someone suddenly entered at the ring of the bell.

"Hey, new kid!" he said, raising his hand in greeting. But Sasuke walked right on by. Jiraiya turned, confused. "Was it something I said?"

Sasuke rubbed one of his eyes, but the outline of the hallway was still blurred. He counted the doors as he slugged by, hoping he could at least make it to Kakashi's class before he'd have to collapse.

_Pathetic._

_Damn him!_ he thought angrily. _Why the hell did he suddenly need to start making everything a huge deal? What the hell was his problem?!_

_Pathetic._

He could barely make out the words on the door's plaque, but he was sure it was Kakashi's. After all, no other door had a huge poster of the new movie _Make-out Violence_ on it. He didn't even bother knocking.

"Sasuke," Kakashi said from his desk without even looking up. His room wasn't as large as others, but it was comfy. It was longer in length than width, with a navy blue carpet and dimly-lit white walls. There were beanbag chairs on one side of the room for his students to sit when they needed counseling and postcards covering the corkboard. "How many times have I told you to knock before entering?"

Sasuke stumbled forwards. "Kakashi?" he slurred. "Am I pathetic?"

Mr. Floor, why must you be so close?

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"How long ago?"

"When I called."

"Did he slip back in?"

"I think he's only unconscious. Should I get the nurse?"

"They don't do anything."

Sasuke felt the floor beneath him shift and someone began to pat his cheeks lightly. Nevertheless, it hurt. A lot.

"Sasuke, can you hear me? Answer me."

Did he fall unconscious again? Hot damn, he was on a roll.

"Who punched him? Sasuke, wake up."

"Um, the first time was Naruto, and then I had to punch him because you _told_ me that whenever he goes into a state of catatonia –"

"Wait, wait, _what?!_ Start from the beginning. Sasuke!"

_Fine, fine!_

Sasuke opened his eyes drowsily to find Itachi staring over him, eyes emotionless. The aching in his jaw was even stronger.

"Itachi, I quit," was the first thing he said. "I don't care about Uchiha pride. I don't want to go back to school with that Uzumaki kid."

Itachi gave a sigh of relief and sat back. Sasuke just realized that he had been laid across three beanbag chairs and was still in Kakashi's office. The digital clock on the man's desk indicated that he had only been out of it for fifteen minutes.

"Alright, what happened?"

"The thing that happened," Sasuke began sitting up, "was Uzumaki Naruto." He winced. He'd stretched his jaw too much. Itachi lightly brushed his fingers along the bruise, mentally noting the cringes Sasuke gave.

"He gave you this bruise?"

"I was punched three times," continued Sasuke. "Twice by Naruto and once by Kakashi."

"Because of a state of catatonia," said Itachi. "Which resulted from what?"

Sasuke bowed his head and mumbled something.

"Words are to be spoken strongly, Sasuke."

". . . Am I pathetic?" he whispered.

There was silence for a while. Itachi exchanged glances with Kakashi before turning back to his younger brother. "Why would you say that?"

". . . No reason. I just want to know."

Itachi touched Sasuke's bruise again to occupy himself with doing something as he tried to read Sasuke's inner thoughts, but it wasn't working. Sasuke had bottled them up again, like he always did. It was his ultimate defense.

"No," he said. "No, you're not pathetic. You mean so much to me, Sasuke, and to mother, and to Kakashi."

Sasuke didn't say anything. He didn't want to dwell on it. He _knew_ that those people cared about him. There was just something . . . something he didn't understand. And he didn't want to tell Itachi just yet.

Itachi, on the other hand, knew that Sasuke was skirting around the question. If his brother wasn't ready to answer it, then fine. He just didn't like the distanced look in Sasuke's eyes at the moment.

"Why did Naruto hit you?" he said, changing the subject.

Sasuke's demeanor turned more excited. "You ask the asshole yourself!" he exclaimed. "I have _no_ idea why the hell he was following me around all the time, asking me to practically kiss his shoes like he's all high and mighty!"

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "He seemed rather friendly," he said. "And Kakashi informed me that he had a 'heart of gold', so to speak." He looked at Kakashi for confirmation.

"It isn't like him to act this way," said Kakashi. "I'll speak to him during lunch. He shouldn't have punched you."

Sasuke swayed in his spot, holding one hand to his forehead. When Kakashi had moved a step over, the lights had come pouring onto him, and now magnified his headache.

"I don't think you should be in school anymore," said Itachi, holding his brother steady. "You don't look well."

"I have to stay," said Sasuke. "It's the track meet today."

"I'll talk to the teacher or something. We can reschedule."

"No!" exclaimed Sasuke. "No more weaknesses. I'm perfectly fine!"

He stood from the beanbag chairs, swayed, and fell back down. Kakashi sighed. "I'll tell you what," he said. "You can take the entire day off in the nurse's office to sleep on one of the beds, and when the track meet comes, I'll wake you up, alright?"

Sasuke grimaced, not liking the idea of missing the entire day to sleep, but his headache thought otherwise. He nodded.

"I don't like this," said Itachi. "If you strain yourself, you don't know what could happen."

"That's why I'm asking you to stay for the track meet," said Kakashi. "Just in case. Sasuke, can you stand?"

"Of course!" the boy scoffed. He stood once again . . . and fell back down. "Just not for more that a second."

"Upsy-daisy."

The way Itachi had said it in monotone made Sasuke chuckle beneath his breath, but then he stopped when he realized what exactly was going up: him. Itachi was lifting him into his arms and with Kakashi's help at the door, they were walking through the quiet halls.

"You'd better make it to the track team," Itachi threatened in monotone. "Or else I'll slaughter you in your sleep for putting me through all this work."

"Are you kidding me?" Sasuke said tiredly, leaning his head onto his brother's chest. "I'll break a world record."

"Just don't break a leg, especially a certain one."

"I'll be sure to switch to second mode. Scream a reminder from the crowds."

"I'd rather not."

"Then I won't switch."

"I hate you."

"I love you too, 'tachi."

Sasuke's breathing evened out and he went into a state of sub-consciousness, aware that he could possibly be awake, yet on the verge of falling asleep. Kakashi strode ahead of them to lead them to the nurse's office.

"Kabuto."

A young male appeared at the door, smiling. "Hello again, Kakashi," he said, flicking a strand of white hair from his eyes. "Need anything?"

"An empty bed for a certain patient," said Kakashi, indicating the partially-unconscious Uchiha. "He'll be taking it up for the remainder of the day."

"I normally don't ask," Kabuto said as he stepped aside to make room in his large office, "but why don't you just send him home if it's for the remainder of the day?"

"Track meet."

"Ah."

Itachi laid Sasuke down on one of the two beds and nodded to Kabuto in thanks. "I'll be by to wake him up."

"Should I clean up the blood and put on some ointment for the bruise?"

"It would be very much appreciated, Kabuto. Thank you."

"You owe me four wafers, Hatake."

Kakashi cursed beneath his breath. "I was hoping you wouldn't remember."

"Strawberry. By tomorrow."

"Just take care of the kid."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Where's Itachi?"

Sasuke was running through the halls, Kakashi right behind him, anxious to change quickly to make it early to the track meet for warm-ups. Kakashi had come inside the hospital to wake him up, Sasuke's bag in hand. Sasuke hadn't been able to get any sleep due to his insomnia, but he'd rested enough to bring his headache down a notch.

"He's already on the bleachers. This is the changing room, and there's a door from there that leads to the field. You're twenty minutes early."

Sasuke thanked Kakashi quickly and headed inside of the locker room.

. . . Singing was coming from in there.

_"I am _fa_lling through a dream."_

And he recognized the voice.

_"I can't go back, can't look back, and you'll see what I mean."_

Turning the corner of the lockers, he spotted Naruto, Kiba, and two other boys he didn't recognize, all changing. Naruto was dancing in his boxers, putting a shirt over his head as he continued to sing in a voice Sasuke found somewhat talented. Kiba was already dressed and was tapping out a drum beat. One of the other boys leaned against the lockers, his eyes closed and his pale hands tying his long, chocolate hair back into a ponytail. The last was doing pushups on the bench, clad in green . . . _spandex?_

When Sasuke stepped into full view, Naruto's eyes swept over him, and he suddenly stopped singing. The smile on his face vanished.

"Uchiha," he growled. Kiba and the other boys looked up at him as well. Kiba grimaced. The chocolate-haired boy merely stared at him with an inquisitive expression. Sasuke noticed he had unbelievably pale gray eyes. Spandex-boy saluted.

"What are you doing here?" continued Naruto. "I thought you'd left the school to cry to your mother."

Sasuke ignored him, briefly remembering his mother was in the hospital, and continued with his way, away from the boys. He hadn't anticipated anyone else to be there at such an early time.

"Who is he?"

It was a low, suave voice that Sasuke thought must have belonged to the long-haired unfamiliar boy.

"Uchiha Sasuke, the largest pain in the ass."

"It is unlike you to call people such names, Naruto," the boy replied. "Especially to the second heir of the Uchiha estate."

"Perhaps his youth is to be identified!"

"Neji, Lee, you don't know the half of it. He isn't anything special."

Sasuke seethed, quickly ripping off his school pants and placing on his track pants before anyone had the chance to notice his prosthetic leg. He took off his shirt as well and cast it aside, rummaging around in his bag for his sports shirt. A small, gray remote found its way into his hand.

And then he remembered.

Before he could forget, he clicked the top left button of the remote close to his prosthetic leg and heard the click it gave in reply. He had changed it to its second mode: its athletic mode.

"Uchiha, you – whoa."

Sasuke turned around suddenly, dropping his remote into his bag. Naruto's eyes only widened, and to worsen the situation, Kiba and the so-called Lee were standing right behind him with their mouths hanging open.

"Look at those scars!" Kiba suddenly exclaimed. Neji, who had come up behind the three of them, merely looked a little surprised. "It's like he went through a sawmill!"

Sasuke stepped back and crossed one arm over his bare chest. With his other arm, he rummaged around inside his bag for his shirt. Naruto's eyes were still on him.

"What did you _do_ to get that scar on your back?" asked Naruto with wide eyes. "It's like, a foot long!"

Sasuke found his shirt and quickly pulled it on, willing the boys to leave.

_How could I have been so _stupid_?!_ he scolded himself.

His fingers shook as he zipped his bag closed and he quickly slung it over his shoulder. When he turned around to walk away, someone grabbed his wrist.

Big mistake.

Sasuke whirled around, fist held back, and punched the person that had grabbed onto him. Luckily, Naruto had ducked just in time, but he fell backwards.

"Don't _touch_ me!" screamed Sasuke. His eyes were wide and manic; his breaths came out in heavy pants. Naruto stared back at him with equally open eyes.

And then Sasuke ran.

The field was quite large, with bleachers on all sides. There was a chalkboard by one side of the bleachers, indicating that the track meet would begin there. The coach, however, was not present.

Sasuke, thinking quickly, looked around for Itachi. He spotted his brother sitting high on the bleachers, under the roof. He ran to him.

"Is there a fire?" Itachi asked mildly, raising an eyebrow at Sasuke.

"Nothing," replied the younger one. "If you happen to see Naruto and these two other kids, just . . . ignore them, okay?"

Itachi's eyebrow only raised itself even more.

Sasuke grumbled beneath his breath (it came out as "You're useless") and deposited his bag beside his brother before turning to hop down the bleachers and onto the field. Not many people were present. There was a group of boys and girls playing basketball in the far courts, and the pink-haired girl from Science Class that morning was on the bleachers, accompanied by a girl with her hair in panda-buns and another with her long blond hair in a ponytail.

When Sasuke began stretching on the track, bending down to touch his toes, he heard one of them speak.

"That's the Uchiha boy, isn't it?"

"I thought he went home."

"I wouldn't mind watching him stretch. He is _fine!"_

"Can we say _desperate?_ I've got Neji."

Sasuke smirked. She had Neji, did she? Then he wouldn't mind creating a little . . . ruckus. He turned his back to them and bent down again.

"That is a nice piece of ass!"

"He's doing that on purpose."

"I don't care!"

He'd had his fun. He really needed to stretch, or his legs wouldn't be able to work properly. Slowly, he sunk to the track's ground in a split of his legs.

"Wow."

"He's amazing."

"He's trying out for track like Naruto, Kiba, Lee, and Neji I guess."

_They're going for the track team?!_ Sasuke grimaced. _This should be fun._

"Nobody can beat my Neji, though! Well, except Lee, but he doesn't count. He's superhuman."

"I don't know. Naruto came awfully close last time . . ."

_Neji and Lee? We'll see about that._

The boys in the locker room had come out, fully dressed, and assembled themselves on the track a little ways from where Sasuke was. Naruto had started to walk towards Sasuke, a glare in place of his usual smile, but a slender arm held him back. Neji shook his head as he whispered something to the blond, and Naruto returned to his former position.

"Hey girls," said Kiba, wiggling his eyebrows.

"You wish, Kiba!" the blond girl cried out. The girls went into a fit of laughter.

"Watch your mouth, Inuzuka," Sasuke heard Neji growl. "One of those girls you happen to be flirting with is _my_ TenTen."

Kiba smiled sheepishly. "I sorta . . . forgot."

"Shall I make it so you don't?"

"Easy, Neji," laughed Naruto. "You know how Kiba is."

"Yes, yes," Lee agreed. "He has a mouth as wide as this beautiful field, but his spirit is filled with glorious youth."

Sasuke reached for his toes after switching positions to a frontal split, one leg splayed in front of him and the other behind him. Boys and girls wanting to try for the Varsity track team came onto the field minutes later, and then an adult finally sauntered onto the grass, a clipboard in his hand and a toothpick in his mouth.

"A'ight, peoples, let's get this thing started!" the man cried, adjusting his bandana. "Gather round. If you didn't stretch, too bad. Number one rule is to _always_ stretch, even when not told. So if you pull a muscle, the only person you have to blame is yourself, got it?"

"Yes, Mr. Shiranui," the students chorused.

"Get your names on this registration list and position yourselves at the yellow line. Today's practice determines the first cut for the long-distance team, and then Tuesday's is the final cut. Run a mile as quickly as you can. Boys, if you get over eight minutes, you're out. Girls, nine. Got it?

"If you're not here for long-distance, come back tomorrow. If you'd like to try short-distance, come again tomorrow."

There was a rush for the clipboard as the coach backed away, preparing a whistle and a stopwatch. Sasuke met his eyes briefly and he grinned, waving a little. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, and the man did as well. He shook his hand, and as did the man.

_O-kaaay._

"Hey, Genma!"

"Yo, Naruto!"

_They know each other?_

The coach, now newly named Genma, shook hands with Naruto, saluted Lee, ruffled Kiba's hair, and nodded in Neji's direction. "I'm expecting you guys to win the gold again this year," said Genma. "Especially since this year, the competition is being hosted at this school."

"Lee and Neji will take the gold, I'll take the silver, and Kiba'll get his dog to win it for him," said Naruto with a grin.

"Hey!"

Sasuke scribbled his name down on the board, annoyed by the incessant chatter around him, and turned to stand on the yellow line.

"I think I might've creeped the new kid out," said Genma.

"Copycat technique?"

"Copycat technique."

Sasuke growled.

"A'ight, are you guys ready to run like heck?" Genma said after a while. "Huzzah!"

He blew his whistle.

And Sasuke was off.

He closed his eyes briefly, trying to calm himself down and prepare himself for the four laps. He thought it was easy. _Too_ easy. On his old track team, they'd had to run two miles in sixteen minutes, or suffer the consequences.

He easily outran the boys and girls. The only people beside him were Naruto, Neji, and Lee. Lee, wearing orange leg warmers, soon took the lead, singing a hearty tune of _What a Wonderful World._

Sasuke didn't think so.

He sped up, willing his body to go further. He had been thinking of saving his energy, but there was _no_ way that bowl-haired, fuzzy-eyebrow-ed, spandex-wearing boy was going to surpass _him. _Naruto "casually" stuck his leg out as they were running, intentionally trying to trip Sasuke, but the Uchiha merely jumped over it, spat at Naruto's feet, and sped up even more to escape Naruto's vain efforts to hit him.

It was now Sasuke and Lee, neck-in-neck, with Neji a mere three steps behind them. Lee turned to Sasuke.

"You are a very spirited new boy," he said. "I admire your youthfulness. Perhaps you will make great competition in the future."

_Perhaps I'll make great competition _now.

Sasuke sped up once more. He was going full-out now. His best had him affront of Lee by six meters.

"Such youthfulness!" Lee cried.

When Sasuke passed Genma on his first lap (clearly ahead of everyone by now), Genma whistled. "I think I've found the new star of the track team," he called at Sasuke.

But Sasuke wasn't listening. He was focused on completing the remaining three laps without falling unconscious, as his headache so very willed his brain to do. He suddenly wished he hadn't practiced yesterday night. He could do _so much better . . ._

On his third lap, he passed Lee . . . who was still on his second lap.

On his fourth lap, his legs never stopped. The sprinting pace he'd taken from the beginning had remained with him for the entirety of the mile. When he met up with Genma, finished at last, he stood for a while, stretching so as not to cramp out his muscles and breathing heavily to regain his breath.

"Holy soy sauce!" Genma exclaimed. "Five minutes and six seconds! That's got to be a record for high-school students or something!"

Sasuke stood, swayed, and collapsed.

---------------------------------------------------------------

[1] **The Hairy Palm:** the infamous story that comes up amongst lawyers. It's rather amusing. Look it up if you'd like.

[2] **Surswoc (R)** - It spells "Cows R Us" backwards. A little author humor. Sue me.

**Does anyone else love writing about Lee?!**


	4. Simple and Clean

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . Gaara would be in the manga more.

**[PLEASE READ!]  
****Author's Note: **I'm off of vacation officially and back beneath 10th grade textbooks, but that's no excuse. I'm still going to update every Sunday and that's a promise.

To those who felt guilty and reviewed last chapter,

PLEASE DON'T.

I reread my author's note from the last chapter and realized I was putting guilt on some peoples' shoulders and I did _not_ want to do that. I got so many more reviews, and I really, really do cherish them, but I think I got them for the wrong reason.

So please, please review _only_ if you want to. I don't care how many I get. I've realized how many people like this story by the amounts of favorites and alerts. You don't even have to review every chapter! I won't get discouraged! I started this story and I'm going to finish it.

So just enjoy reading. And thanks. For reading.

OH! And I love Naruto (the character)! So if I made him act like a jerk in the last chapter, there were hints that he _wasn't_ as big as a jerk, as well as an explanation coming up. So please don't be angry!

And I'm sorry this author's note is so long, but one last thing. Sasuke's courses are unimportant and most likely incorrect. The reasoning? I'm in Egypt and I'm only in the 10th grade. Sasuke is in the 11th. The curriculum in Egypt's AIS is **completely different** from American curriculum. We also have something called IB. So forgive me for any mistakes in curriculum.

**Chapter 4  
**…**:::Simple and Clean:::…  
****Utada Hikaru**

The crowd of people on the bleachers gasped simultaneously.

Lee and Neji, arriving at last, ran to him, but a voice cut through their actions.

"No one touch him."

Itachi walked calmly down the stairs of the bleachers, everyone's eyes on him. He knelt beside Sasuke's unconscious figure.

"Uh . . . sir?" said Genma. "Should I call an ambulance?"

"No, it's nothing serious," said Itachi indifferently. He held Sasuke's limp hand in his. "He trained for six hours yesterday and took quite a few hits this morning. He just needs to rest."

"Well, Mr. . . .?"

"Uchiha. Itachi Uchiha. I'm only twenty, so there is no need for formalities."

"Yes, Itachi. Tell . . .?"

"Sasuke."

Genma smiled sheepishly. "Tell Sasuke that when he wakes up, he's made it to the team, hands down."

Itachi nodded, the ghost of a smile on his face. "I will do so."

He gathered Sasuke's limp form in his arms and walked away. Naruto was left to stare in awe and anger.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke woke to darkness. He sat up in the comfort of his own bed and stared around. His door was closed, the lights were off both outside and in, and there was no one around.

"Itachi?" he called. His limbs ached too much for him to move, put on his prosthesis, and walk out of the room. "Itachi?"

Itachi came in almost immediately, carrying a tray of food: his assorted daily medicine, soup, crackers, and a bowl of cherry tomatoes.

"Genma says you made the track team," he said. "And he's checking to see if you've beaten a record today."

"I didn't," replied Sasuke as he took a cracker off of the tray. "I beat a record in the old school, and I think I did much worse today."

"I'll admit you did, but no one can run as fast as you, handicap or not. I've made you light food today so your stomach can handle it."

"Is mom still at the hospital?"

Itachi silenced for a while, uncapping bottles of pills. He sighed.

"Mother has malaria," he said. "I didn't want to tell you this morning so you wouldn't get worried through the school day."

"Malaria?" Sasuke questioned. He took two pills and swallowed them dryly. "But she's alright, right?"

Itachi sat down on Sasuke's bed, staring at his brother. "It's deadly if you don't have the right medicine," he said. "But don't worry, I've paid for the treatment, and if all goes well, she should be fine in a maximum of fifteen days."

"When can I see her?"

"Whenever you'd like," said Itachi.

There was a moment of silence where Sasuke could feel the unsaid words of Itachi rest on his shoulders. Itachi had left something out.

"Itachi, what's wrong?" he asked. "You said mom was alright."

"Anti-malarial drugs are expensive, Sasuke," Itachi replied after a while. "Really expensive. In order to keep mother alive, I've practically used half of our remaining money."

"Who cares about the money?" snapped Sasuke. "As long as we're alive and in this apartment, then I'm fine. Leave greed to dad."

"It's not that, Sasuke," Itachi said, a hint of amusement in his expression. "We're extremely low on money now. We're probably a few steps away from living on the streets. With mother incapacitated, I've got to take up two jobs for the money to pay for the apartment."

"That's not too bad," said Sasuke. "I can work at the bookshop down the street, too."

"No."

Itachi looked at Sasuke with utmost seriousness. "No," he said again. "You will _not_ work. There's no need for you to spoil your childhood for the sake of money, Sasuke. The only thing you need to think about it getting through high school."

Sasuke raised both of his eyebrows in surprise, but said nothing of it. He chewed on a tomato.

"The thing is, with mother gone, and me working two jobs, it leaves you alone for a good portion of the day."

"How long?"

"From five a.m. to twelve a.m."

Sasuke almost choked on the tomato he was eating. "Seventeen hours?" Sasuke said. "You'll be working for seventeen hours?"

_Nice going, Uchiha,_ a little voice told him. _You've gone and ruined your brother's life._

"It's only temporary," said Itachi. "Just for fifteen days, starting tomorrow morning. You'll have to walk to school in the morning and hopefully, I'll be able to leave you breakfast, but we'll manage. It's just for fifteen days."

"Promise?"

Itachi tried to smile. _Wanted_ to smile. But he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, his smile kept slipping into a frown. The image of his brother affront of him was one he wanted to keep: a care-free, still-living form of Uchiha Sasuke.

"I promise."

How he wished he never had.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

For the first time ever, Sasuke awoke to an alarm clock.

Itachi was always his alarm clock in the mornings. The man had an internal alarm clock within him, Sasuke swore. But today, the annoying _bzz_ of the digital appliance beside him made his head pound.

Itachi wasn't there.

It would be an awkward day, he was sure of it. When he headed into the shower, the water turned cold sooner than he'd expected, as if the person who had used it before him had used up all the hot water to take a soothing bath.

Itachi probably deserved one, he thought.

He spent the rest of the morning eating the toaster waffles Itachi had left out for him, placing on random clothing (jeans and a long-sleeved shirt), and examining the fading bruise in his bathroom mirror. Kabuto had done an excellent job with tending to it.

"Bye, Itachi," Sasuke whispered to the empty house. He closed the apartment door behind him and locked it.

_It wasn't fair, _he thought as he walked, alone, to school.

He was going to complete a school day today. He was going to make it through the first period (Shop, he noticed) clean, since Naruto had Band, and then he'd go on to History without a hitch.

Eyes were on him the second he set foot onto the school's front yard. Whispers reached his ears when he decided to turn them on. A foot tripped him when he'd walked through the halls, but he'd only stumbled and carried on. He had known who it was, after all. He _had_ whiffed kibble and dog slobber.

Having not been assigned a locker yet, he simply carried on to his designated classroom. The teacher was in there already (or at least, he _thought_ it was the teacher): a man that looked no older than Itachi. He looked up from his desk. Sasuke spotted purple markings on his face.

"Heh-hey!" the man said. "You're the new kid Sarutobi said I'd be getting!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. He stood at the door.

"Don't look at me like that," the man continued. "I'm fully qualified to be a teacher! I've only had three accidents this year!"

He hopped off of his desk and walked forwards. "I'm Kankuro," he said. "Sabaku Kankuro, none of that 'Mr.' crap."

Sasuke took his hand warily. "Uchiha Sasuke."

"So, Sasuke," said Kankuro, walking back to his desk. "Are you any good with woodwork or metalwork?"

_This guy likes to talk,_ Sasuke thought as he sat down.

"I've had experience," he replied. Kankuro busied himself with a small hand puppet. Now that Sasuke looked around the room, the entirety of the area (aside from the tools and workbenches) had puppets, hooked onto the walls, hanging from the ceilings . . . He was a puppet maker.

"How _much_ experience?"

"Two years' worth."

Kankuro looked up from his puppet and grinned. "Is that so? Then you wouldn't mind taking up this class' assignment today, would you?"

"Glad to take the challenge," Sasuke replied smoothly.

Kankuro laughed. "I like this kid!" he said to no one in particular. "I _really_ like you. You've got spunk, you know that?"

"Kankuro?" Sasuke asked after a while, watching the older man suck on a lollipop. "How old are you?"

To his surprise, Kankuro laughed again. "I get that a lot," he said. He reached for a screwdriver. "I'm nineteen. I just got my job here this year."

_. . . Right._

"Hey Kankuro," a girl said as she entered the classroom. She was the same girl from the bleachers; Neji's girlfriend.

"TenTen, girl of the hour!" Kankuro said as he turned around. "How're things going at the orphanage?"

TenTen rolled her eyes. "Mrs. Izumi is crazy!" she exclaimed. "She had me doing chores for two _hours!"_

Kankuro frowned. "I thought I set her straight."

TenTen grinned. "You probably made everything worse." When Kankuro gave her a mock pout, she lightly slapped his arm. "I'm just _kidding_. Everything's _fine."_

"Hey, did you meet Uchiha over here?"

Kankuro motioned with a nod of his head to where Sasuke sat. Sasuke mentally cursed him.

"Yeah," said TenTen. She turned to stare at him. "You're that amazingly quick guy. Are you alright? You looked sick when you passed out yesterday."

Sasuke stared at her.

"Not a talker, huh?" said Kankuro. "Or maybe he's afraid Neji's going to come and kill him for talking to you."

TenTen and Kankuro laughed.

Sasuke didn't get it.

Kankuro noticed this and coughed. "Well, uh . . . just know that there's a pop quiz today."

"Right," said TenTen, rolling her eyes. "Totally _pop."_

Kankuro grinned. "Ain't nothing but, baby!"

And then the two went into another fit of laughter.

And Sasuke still didn't get it.

Kankuro clapped his hands together and jumped onto his desk when the last bell had rung. "Alright, class," he said, rubbing his hands now. "Since I don't really believe in chairs, I want to know what makes them so special."

_Believe in . . . chairs?_ thought Sasuke. _Is that why he's sitting on the desk?_

"And _that_ means . . . pop quiz! Yay!"

The crowd was silent. A girl in the back whispered, "Ma3 nefsoo, kidda7," **[1]** which took Sasuke a while to realize that it wasn't Spanish, French, Italian, or any other language he'd dabbled in.

"Alright, kiddies, I'm hoping you remember the order of steps I've told you to take when working with both wood _and_ metal," Kankuro continued. "You're going to make me a short stool, bout yay-high. Simple, right? Wrong. On the top of it, you're going to engrave your name in _metal_ and on the legs, _metal_ designing of your choice, but it all must be made with engraved metal. Get it? Got it? Off to work!"

He swung his legs from where he sat on his desk and smiled at the hustle and bustle of the students as they quickly disappeared in the back closet and reappeared with the wood and materials they needed. Sasuke looked at him briefly before turning around to get his supplies as well.

"Uchiha."

He turned around.

Kankuro pointed to his eyes with two fingers and then at Sasuke.

"I'm watching you."

TenTen had already set herself to work by the time he got his wood and brought it back to his work station. He ignored her and stared at his own materials. He'd need to cut the curves of the stool's legs, then use one of the carving tools Kankuro kept in the back to carve the designs before placing the metal within them.

Easy enough.

Despite being the last person at the saws (purposely), he was almost done in forty-five minutes and thought about spending the last twenty-three minutes sanding off the circular base of the stool.

He loved the way the legs had come out. They were slimly curved at their bases, fattened out, only to repeat the pattern. The decorations were vines that snaked their ways around the legs, occasional leaves and flowers here and there. And on the stool base, he'd surrounded it in several, inch-long symbols: the Uchiha fan.

Looking at TenTen next to him, he saw that she was busy admiring her own work, which Sasuke admitted was skillfully done. The base of hers was round as well, but the legs had a spiral-like pattern, complete with decorative, metal-engraved designs of what appeared to be an assortment of weapons.

Everyone else, Sasuke saw, was just figuring out what they'd done wrong.

"Aha!" exclaimed Kankuro suddenly. "I've got ya!"

He jumped from his desk and grabbed a stool from a nearby boy. Now that Sasuke noticed, TenTen was the _only_ girl.

The stool was put together finely, but the metal designs were missing.

"Now how the heck are you guys going to put the metal on?" he laughed. "You can't dip this entire thing into the metal! _That_ was the trick! M comes before W! Metal comes before wood! For crying out loud, I have it written up above the board!"

And sure enough, he did.

In bold, too.

Kankuro rubbed his face with his hand, smearing some of the purple paint he had on it, but grinned. "Alright, alright, I'll be a nice guy. Those of you who completed the assignment, you get a fifteen out of twenty. Those of you who did the assignment _correctly_ get full marks, and a one-point bonus on the exam. Pick up your stools next class."

Sasuke thought it was fair.

Well, except for the fact that he had no report card to worry about, and that he wasn't taking the exams.

But at least he had a nice short stool to rest his . . . foot on?

Okay, so it was useless, but it _looked_ nice.

The bell rung and Kankuro stood by the door, waving and high-fiving the boys that passed by. He winked at TenTen, whispered a good job, and pushed her out the door with a single hand.

"Hey, Uchiha," he said to his last-remaining student. Sasuke stood to walk out the door. "Welcome to shop class."

He walked by without a word.

"Sasuke."

_Oh goody . . ._

Kakashi strode to him from across the hall, a concerned look on his face. "Itachi told me you'd passed out after the try-outs and you didn't come to see me this morning."

"I . . . forgot," Sasuke said lamely, staring at his orange laces.

"Shouldn't Naruto be showing you around? I talked to him during lunch."

Sasuke grimaced. "I don't need anyone to show me around. There are room numbers on the schedule. I especially don't need _his_ help."

Kakashi frowned at this, fiddling with a lock in his hand. "This is seriously getting out of hand. I'll leave it for now. Here's your lock. The combination is on this piece of paper, as well as your number. It's next to the main office."

Sasuke took it wordlessly and slipped it into his bag.

"See me at lunch, okay?"

". . . Sure."

And he walked away.

Arabic class came next.

Sasuke took the class for two reasons: one, just in case he wanted to become a lawyer (because Arabic, Japanese, and Chinese had turned into the three major languages other than English for communication) and two, because it was either Arabic, French, Italian, or Spanish.

The teacher was a man that looked more Japanese than Arab, but his dark skin, dark hair, an dark eyes made Sasuke suspect that he had some, if not, a little Arabic descent. There was a scar going across the bridge of his nose and when he smiled, it would crinkle.

Sasuke took a seat at the side of the class where he was sure no one would be able to see him if he dozed off. He set his head on his desk lazily and eyed the people that began coming into the door.

The class suddenly seemed to be filled with people he recognized (though he didn't know their names). There was Neji, who came in calmly with TenTen attached to his arm lovingly.

"Salaamoualaikoum," Neji said in his monotone voice, greeting the teacher.

"Whe alaikoum el salaam," the teacher replied with a smile. "Getting another A this term, Neji?"

"Anything but?" Neji replied with a smirk. TenTen giggled, waved to the teacher, and the two of them sat down at the front.

"Quick quiz!" the teacher suddenly said, pointing to TenTen. "Red!"

"A7mar," she replied with practiced ease. It was as if the teacher did this everyday. "You can never catch us, Mr. Umino."

"Top of the class freaks," Mr. Umino replied with a smile.

Pink and blond hair entered the door suddenly, equivalent beaming smiles on their faces, and waved.

"Kaef 7alleck, Mr. Umino?" asked Sakura. "I'm ready for the exams!"

"I can see that. What about you, Ino?" Mr. Umino asked the blond girl beside her. "Are you ready to be tested for your first semester of Arabic?"

"Maybe, maybe not," replied Ino with a grin. "What's it to ya?"

Someone suddenly bumped into them from behind.

"Naruto!"

_Oh no. Oh damn. Oh geez. Oh please. Not _him!

Sasuke hid his face in his arms, pretending to be resting, as he heard the blond male begin to clatter around the room.

"Iruka!" he exclaimed. "You owe me three bowls of ramen!"

"You owe me a test grade," Mr. Umino, now known as Iruka, replied. "And last week's homework."

"I'll have them tomorrow! I swear!"

"That's what you said six tomorrows ago."

Without even looking, Sasuke _knew_ Naruto was giving his trademark sheepish smile, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. He managed to peep from his arms a little.

Yeah, he was right.

Tch, when was he _not_ right?

_How about that time when –_

_Shut up, Sasuke,_

_Yes, Sasuke._

Several more people walked through the door, including Kiba, who sat beside Naruto, and Shikamaru, who sat directly behind Sasuke, next to the window. A large boy sat to his left, munching secretly on a bag of gummi worms.

A rather strange boy wearing tinted glasses and a shirt with the collar pulled up so high, half his face was hidden, walked into the room and sat beside Kiba. As Lee walked into the room ("Youthful classmates, I have come!"), Sasuke saw Neji lean over to TenTen.

"Hinata is sick once more," he whispered to her. "I'll be visiting her today."

"Send her my regards," TenTen whispered back.

The last person to walk into the classroom before Iruka closed the door was the strangest boy Sasuke had ever seen. It wasn't the black hair, no. It wasn't the frighteningly-pale skin, either. It was the belly shirt. Yes, a belly shirt. He sat at the complete back of the class.

"Alright then," said Iruka. "I've got your review packets right here. I've made the exam simplified, with English directions since this is a beginning class." He began passing around a stack of papers. As everyone was occupied, Iruka got Sasuke's attention and motioned for him to come forwards.

Sasuke reluctantly did so. The squeak his chair made seemed amplified, and the room had suddenly gone silent. He could've sworn he heard Naruto growl again.

"Sasuke," said Iruka, staring at his attendance chart. "You've missed an entire semester of Arabic that you're going to need to learn if you want to pass this following semester. That means double work everyday. Is that alright?"

Nod.

"I'll be here after school if you ever need any help, but Kakashi assured me that he'd be able to as well. This week, you'll be working with me as everyone reviews. Understood?"

Nod.

"Alright, here's your lesson book."

It was a thin, soft-covered book with Arabic and an English translation beneath.

The joys.

"I want you to look over this book for the remainder of the class to know the basics for your first lesson tomorrow. I'm always open for questions."

Nod.

He turned around and headed back to his desk where he immersed himself in the book, or rather, the little speck of dust on his desk that just-so-happened to be in the same line of sight as the text within the book.

"I'll be out for a few minutes," said Iruka, heading to the door. "I trust this class enough to let you on your own for a while, alright?"

The second Iruka headed out the door, the class suddenly erupted into chatter. There was a sudden crowd around Naruto, everyone but Shikamaru and the bulky boy beside him. Sasuke watched them from the corner of his eye. Naruto seemed to be the center of attention.

The blond cut his chatter off, allowing the conversation to be carried around by the others, and turned around. His eyes met Sasuke's and they narrowed to a glare before he turned back.

"Oi," said a lazy voice from behind him. "Why does Naruto hate you so much?" Sasuke turned around to see Shikamaru raise an eyebrow at Naruto, but he was talking to Sasuke. "He always gives someone a chance, even when they tick him off, but he just downright hates you."

Sasuke shrugged, staring at Naruto as well. The blond had turned back to stare at him for a while until finally, he decided to stand. The crowd around him suddenly went quiet. Sensing the tension, Sakura stood as well and cut Naruto off, walking briskly ahead of him to stop in front of Sasuke.

"Hi," she said. "I'm Haruno Sakura. Pleased to meet you!" She held out her hand expectantly. Sasuke looked at it.

"Sakura, what are you _doing?"_ Naruto said, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"I'm making a new friend," Sakura shot back hotly. "Honestly, Naruto, I don't know why you hate him! What is going on with you?"

Naruto shut his mouth, wanting so much to say something else, but not wanting to say it in front of everyone. But he didn't let everything go. Instead, he continued to walk forward, gently pushing Sakura out of the way, and looked down on Sasuke.

Sasuke stood up.

He would _not_ be looked down upon.

He smirked when he realized that he was taller than Naruto by about two and a half inches. Naruto glared anyway, not noticing the height.

"Kakashi talked to me yesterday," the blond said evenly. "He wants us to get along. So maybe we should try."

Blink. Blink.

"Don't you ever _speak?"_

"It's better to keep your mouth closed and let everyone think you're an idiot than to open your mouth and prove it."

Sasuke could just see Naruto's hands twitching to bring themselves upon Sasuke's cheek bone.

"You think you're all that?"

"The same could be said to you, Uzumaki."

"You emotionless, son-of-a-bitch Uchiha." Naruto went closer to his face. "And I mean _son_ of a _bitch."_

Sasuke raised his eyebrow. "Are you trying to insult my dad, Uzumaki?" he asked coolly. Everyone in the room was holding their breaths. They were ready to call for a teacher if a fight broke out. Kiba was ready to _join_ the fight.

"Seems so, _Uchiha."_

Sasuke sneered.

"My dad, just like yours, is _dead."_

Naruto wasn't sure what made him tackle Sasuke to the ground. Perhaps it was because of the emotionless way he had spoken of his own father. Perhaps it was the way Sasuke had used a condescending sort of tone. Or perhaps it involved the following words that came from the blonde's mouth:

"Because your father killed mine!"

And they were suddenly on the floor in a mix of flailing limbs and a clatter of desks and chairs. The girls screeched. The boys gasped. Kiba cheered Naruto on. Lee cried about youth. And everyone saw blood.

Sasuke didn't care that his jaw hurt like hell, or that his arm was suddenly sporting a profusely-bleeding gash from a nearby desk. What he _did_ care about was the accusation Naruto had screamed. He managed to get the blond on the floor and straddled his waist.

"Is _that _why you hate me?" he screamed, slugging Naruto across the cheek. "Because of an _untrue_ fact?"

Naruto managed to fling Sasuke from him using his knees and straddled the brunette. "Please, _stop!"_ cried Ino. "I'll get Iruka, I _swear_ I will!" The boy with the belly shirt had taken out a sketchpad and had begun to draw.

Sasuke saw white lights for a large amount of time and in the moments it took him to regain his eyesight again, Naruto punched him in the gut – hard – in the exact same place he'd broken several ribs three months prior. The Uchiha lurched forward and coughed uncontrollably . . . spilling blood onto the blonde's face.

"Naruto!" cried Sakura. "He's coughing up _blood!"_

"You don't _care_, you asshole!" yelled Naruto, ignoring his friend and briefly smearing the blood on his cheek. "I'm an orphan because of _you_ and your _stupid_ father!"

Sasuke's chest tightened.

"Because of your stupid empire!"

His vision was dimming and the only thing he worried about was whether or not his prosthetic leg was visible.

"Because of all you damn Uchihas!"

He looked up to see sapphire eyes brimming with tears. They fell onto his face.

"I hate you," cried Naruto, pounding Sasuke's chest pathetically. "I hate you so much."

Neji pulled the teary-eyed blond off of Sasuke with gentle force at the exact moment the door slammed open and Kakashi and Iruka entered.

"I can't _believe_ this!" yelled Kakashi. "I thought I'd worked everything out! I thought that since I'm the guidance counselor, then _maybe_ I'd be able to sort out two teenagers and keep them from fighting! I can't _believe_ this!"

"I trusted you guys not to do anything," added Iruka, parting the crowd of students and taking a distressed Naruto by the shoulders. Kakashi walked forwards to help Sasuke sit upright. The brunette hissed at the abuse to his ribs.

"You two are going to be heading to the nurse, where you'll be receiving your punishments," said Kakashi. "I'm going to end this dispute once and for all."

"Neji," said Iruka, beginning to guide Naruto from the classroom. "You're in charge until I get back."

Neji nodded and helped Kakashi pick up a hissing and wincing Sasuke.

"What do you think you're doing, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked him as he helped the younger teen walk through the halls. Sasuke took pity upon his mentor. There was no anger in the man's voice; no annoyance. There was only fatigue. "What's been going on?"

Kabuto raised an eyebrow at the state of the boys, but beckoned them in and told them to rest on separate beds as he tended to them. Naruto sat on the one on the right, rubbing his red eyes vigorously to eliminate any trace of tears, as Kakashi helped Sasuke lay on a bed on the opposite side. Iruka left with a whisper of good luck to his fellow colleague.

"I'm going to ask about you first, Sasuke," said Kakashi, sitting tiredly in a chair between the two as Kabuto went back and forth between the boys. Naruto had a split lip and a growing bruise around his right eye and left cheek. There was a large cut on his elbow where he'd skinned it on the rug floor and slammed it into the corner of an upturned desk.

"I refuse to speak in front of him," said Sasuke hoarsely, allowing Kabuto to raise his shirt. Kabuto clucked his tongue at the sight of the purple bruises around his ribs before tending to the large gash on Sasuke's arm.

"Just speak!"

Sasuke pursed his lips briefly at Kakashi's weary outburst, but decided that he'd annoyed his mentor enough. What did he care that the blond idiot heard everything?

"Mom is in the hospital," he whispered. He didn't want Naruto to hear anyway. Kakashi leaned forward to listen. Unbeknownst to Sasuke, Naruto was listening rather intently. He just chose to stare at the ceiling. "She's got malaria, and the medicine is rather costly."

_What does he care if he has to pay a few thousand dollars for medicine?_ thought Naruto. _He's almost as rich as I am._

"Should I call Itachi up?" asked Kakashi. "Maybe he'd –"

"Don't bother," interrupted Sasuke. "Itachi's at work."

"I thought he took the night shifts."

Sasuke winced when Kabuto applied pressure to his ribs. "He's taken two jobs to make up the money while mom's in the hospital."

Kakashi was suddenly alert. "Two jobs? How much time does it take?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow. Why would they need to make up money? What the heck was going on? From the corner of his eye, he saw Sasuke continue to stare at his hands.

"Sasuke, please."

". . . Seventeen hours," Sasuke whispered. "From five a.m. to twelve a.m."

Kakashi's eyes widened in horror. "You're alone in the house for _that_ long? What about food? Who supervises your training?"

"I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!" snapped Sasuke, sitting up despite the pain it brought him. "I can cook and clean and do everything I want to! There's no point in supervising my training! And besides, it's only for fifteen days."

_Cook? Clean?!_ thought Naruto. _Where are his many maids? His chefs?_

"Sasuke, maybe I should –"

"Maybe you should worry about yourself sometimes, Kakashi," Sasuke whispered harshly.

The silver-haired man rubbed one hand over his face. He chose to drop the subject, but turned to where Naruto was flexing his elbow. Kabuto disappeared into the back room.

"I want to know the deal between you two, starting with Sasuke's side of the story, then Naruto's."

"My side of the story is simple." Sasuke let his bare, bandaged back rest against the wall, sitting upright on his bed. "I didn't do anything and blondie over here just jumps me when he feels like it. He's got a grudge against my dad. He says mine killed his."

"Because it's true!" Naruto shot back. "Haven't you read the papers for the last ten months?! Haven't you watched any television?! It's been all over the news that they investigated the assassination of my father and the murderer was, without a doubt, from a rival empire! We only had _one_ rival empire and that was the _Uchiha_ Empire!"

"For your information, blondie, I haven't seen a lick of television or read the newspaper for the past _year!"_

"Then you're rather illiterate for a stuck-up Uchiha child!" yelled Naruto. "You've got all the spoils of riches like I do, so don't act like you _don't!"_

Sasuke slid off of his bed in sheer anger. Kakashi glanced into his eyes and knew that for once, he shouldn't interfere. He trusted Sasuke, with that look in his eyes, to not hit Naruto. He was a little unsure of himself when Sasuke grabbed fistfuls on Naruto's shirt, but knew the Uchiha only wanted to talk.

"Do you know _why_ I haven't heard anything from the media?" he whispered ominously into the blonde's face. "Do you know _why_ my mom's recovery is taking longer than usual? Do you know _why_ my brother has to work like a _dog_ every night and day and gets only _four hours of sleep_?! _Huh?!_"

Naruto didn't answer for a while, his eyes wide. He shakily shook his head, no.

"Because I'm fucking _poor, _you asshole. What money my family has is probably less than it took you to buy a fucking _limo!_ I'm _poor!_ Go ahead and tell the entire school for all I give a shit! I _dare_ you! They'll find out anyway, with the differences between us. You with your fucking branded clothing and dozen cars, with your mansion and your grandmother as mayor, and the whole school population kissing your _ass_ just to suck it up!"

Naruto didn't say anything. He stared at Kakashi, as if asking for confirmation. Kakashi frowned and nodded his head slowly.

And then Naruto stared at him with a look.

_The_ look.

Pity.

"Don't look at me that way," whispered Sasuke. "Don't _look_ at me that _way!"_

He dropped Naruto roughly onto the bed and turned around to leave the office. Kakashi quickly intercepted his way to the door.

"Let me leave, Kakashi," demanded Sasuke. "Let me go back home."

"I can't let you do that," said Kakashi. "I've got something I need you boys to do first."

"Forget it! There is _no way_ I can stand him any longer!"

Kakashi placed his hands on Sasuke's shoulders. "Please, Sasuke."

Sasuke's eyes suddenly lost their emotion. "Itachi," he said in monotone. "Itachi." His voice rose louder with every statement. "Itachi? Itachi!_Itachi_!" He whirled around, eyes wide and mouth open to scream once more. Naruto stared at him with fear. He almost looked . . . _insane._

"Sasuke, calm down!" Kakashi told the boy who was beginning to advance towards Kabuto's desk, which had several pointed objects on them. "Sasuke, snap out of it!"

"Itachi!" the boy continued to scream. "Itachi!"

"What's _wrong_ with him?" asked Naruto, watching Sasuke flail in the grip Kakashi suddenly had on him.

Kakashi ignored the blond and enveloped Sasuke in a bone-crushing bind, holding him still until his arms went limp and his face buried itself into Kakashi's shoulder.

"Damn it," he whispered. "What the hell did I do in life to deserve this? Huh? Tell me, Kakashi. Someone tell me, because I can't understand."

Kakashi let go of Sasuke and held him by the shoulders. The man honestly didn't know what to do. He couldn't call Itachi, since the elder one was at work that Kakashi knew not of. Their mother was in the hospital. There weren't any sedation needles around, either, because Kabuto wasn't authorized to have any.

"Naruto, come on," said Kakashi. "We'll be heading to my office so we can talk this out privately and comfortably."

Naruto shakily rose from his bed and followed without another word. Kakashi still held tightly to the suddenly-obedient Uchiha as they walked the short distance from the nurse's office to the guidance office. Kakashi opened it, closed it, and locked it. He set Sasuke down on a beanbag chair and offered for Naruto to take a seat.

"Naruto," said Kakashi. "You can't reveal this information to anyone else, understand? Whatever you heard about Sasuke is between the occupants of this room, okay?"

"Alright," whispered Naruto. "But Kakashi, what's going on?"

Kakashi sat on his office chair and stared at the two teenagers affront of him. "Naruto, you need to understand that you can't hold a grudge against all Uchihas despite what you may think about one man."

"But –"

"Give me a reasonable explanation why you hate Sasuke."

"His _father_ killed _mine!"_

Kakashi held up two gloved fingers. "There are two things wrong with that statement. One, his father did _not_ kill yours. There is no proof that it _was_ his father, let alone a man from the Uchiha estate. It could have possibly been a random man from within."

"You don't know the story of the Uzumakis and the Uchihas!"

"And maybe I don't," replied Kakashi. "But even if it _was_ his father, I want you to give me an explanation why you hate Sasuke when he did nothing."

Naruto frowned and said nothing.

"Thank you for stating my point, Naruto." He turned to Sasuke, whose black eyes bore into his single gray one, and said, "Naruto, there is something you need to know about Sasuke, since you already know quite a bit about him."

"Kakashi, if you _dare -!"_

"He's had quite a bit of mental trauma in the past ten months."

"Kakashi!"

"What . . . what kind of mental trauma?" asked Naruto hesitantly.

"None of your business, Uzumaki!" Sasuke shot hotly. "Kakashi, what are you trying to pull here?"

"I wasn't telling him everything, Sasuke," replied Kakashi. "You've already spilled out one of your secrets to him, there's no reason to leave him out in the dark of everything." He paused then, just for dramatic effect. "Especially since you two are going to be seeing quite a lot of each other over the next two weeks."

"Excuse me?" blurted Sasuke, the same time Naruto exclaimed "What?!"

"That's right," said Kakashi. "Every lunch time, you two will sit in this room and tell each other about yourselves. You will be best friends by the end of each of these sessions, understand?"

"_Every_ lunch?" cried Naruto. "I don't think I'd be able to take that!"

"No _way_!" added Sasuke. "I will _not_ get to know someone who punched my lights out over a stupid misunderstanding!"

"Which reminds me," said Kakashi, his sadistic cheer returning. "Naruto, apologize to Sasuke for hurting him. Sasuke, apologize to Naruto for being a jerk."

"I will _not!"_ both boys exclaimed in unison.

"I'm glad we all agree on some things."

"Bastard." Again, they'd said it simultaneously. When they realized this, they crossed their arms and glared at each other.

"I feel like we're already friends!"

"Shut it, Hatake," said Sasuke.

"Remember that I'm still your superior in school, Uchiha. If you don't apologize, I'm adding on extra consequences!"

"How extra?"

"Three tasks for every second you don't starting in five seconds. Five, four, three –"

"I'm sorry!" both boys blurted to each other at the same time, neither one meaning it. Kakashi caught this and sighed.

"At least it's a step up."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] Ma3 nefsoo, kidda7 - **Okay, this is Arabic. And hard to explain. The literal translation for this would be "By himself, like that." But the actual translation would be "In his own world." Picture this: you're a student sitting in a classroom. The teacher suddenly says something that he thinks is funny and he laughed at it himself, even though it wasn't funny at all. The awkward silence amongst the students that the teacher doesn't notice is the _perfect _time to use this expression. =D

The numbers stand for sounds. In Arabic, if you turn the number 3 around, it looks like one of the letters in the Arabic alphabet and makes a sound akin to "Aah" . . . but it's a sound that CAN'T be mimicked using the English alphabet, so you're better off ignoring this or looking it up. And the 7 turned on its side looks like another letter that sounds like an airy "Hah", so it's kinda like "Kiddahh".

Why Arabic? I thought it would be interesting, and it's the only other language I know besides English and Japanese, and I think everyone's had enough of Japanese.


	5. Hold On

**Disclaimer:** If I onwed Naruto . . . the manga would _not_ be this big of a damn piss of.

**Author's Note:** Well, I think I've officially exhausted the review topic, now haven't I?

IT'S EXAM WEEK!

Okay, it'll be exam week in three days, but still! And it took me an hour to update (reply to reviews, check over chapter, etc.) and I'm WAY behind on studying! If I didn't reply to your review, please don't hate me! I just _really_ need to start studying!

This chapter is a bit longer than the others, but I hope it's satisfying and not too boring for it's length. Sorry if I seem a bit in a rush. Studying is going to kill me . . .

Read and laugh your ass off! And review if you feel like it!

**Chapter 5  
**…**:::Hold On:::…  
****Good Charlotte**

Sasuke hadn't seen Naruto for the remainder of the day, despite staying in Kakashi's office during lunch. Kakashi had declared that their getting-to-know-each-other sessions started tomorrow and for every missed session, there would be an after school detention. Sasuke had sat quietly through English and walked home alone, silently plotting what he would do without having Itachi in the house.

During his walk home, however, he soon found himself lost amid trees he'd never seen before.

_So much for taking a shortcut_, he thought to himself.

He turned to the left to find trees.

To the right, trees.

Behind him, _more_ trees.

Forward . . . bushes, but still trees.

Having no one around to ask for directions, Sasuke continued to walk forth, hoping that he'd eventually find a clearing and know where he was.

He _did_ find a clearing.

He just didn't know where he was.

There was a long, two-story building in the distance, with a park within a fence. The sounds of children screaming, playing, and laughing came to Sasuke's ears. A woman was at the front, tending to the large garden that signaled the beginning of the building's lawn.

He could make out two figures at the front as he approached. One was, to his surprise, TenTen. The other was, to his dismay, Neji. TenTen swiftly kissed Neji on the cheek.

"TenTen, is that you?" a woman's voice barked from the door of the building. "Get in here! Are you with that boy again? What did I tell you about being with boys? You'd better still be a virgin!"

"I'm coming!" TenTen replied back hotly, her face giving a grimace. She apologized to Neji and bid him goodbye, storming to the door of the building. Coming closer to it, Sasuke saw its sign:

_Konoha Garden Orphanage._

"Uchiha, was it?"

Sasuke turned his head to stare in Neji's direction. He'd been noticed.

_Damn._

The Uchiha cocked his head slightly to the side.

"I've been told you were the silent type."

"Do you know the way to Green Lane?"

He'd said it abruptly; Neji took a while to comprehend what he'd said. He raised an eyebrow and pointed to the right, his pale eyes never once leaving Sasuke's obsidian ones.

"You're in Ranch Lane. Turn right at the end of the street and head up the hill. You should get to it." **[1]**

Sasuke nodded his head, a symbol of appreciation, and turned to leave without another word. He didn't want to socialize.

"Uchiha!"

Neji called after him when he was a few meters away. Sasuke stopped, but did not turn around.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

Sasuke smirked.

He'd eventually found his way back, thanks to Neji's directions. When he opened the door to his apartment, no one was there to greet him – no one but silence and darkness.

"I'm home," he whispered lamely, taking off his shoes at the foot of the frame. He set his practically-empty bag down (having emptied what little contents he had in his new locker) and entered the kitchen. Itachi hadn't come home at all between jobs from the lack of food on the table.

_This is going to be a long day,_ he thought to himself as he unlatched a pan from the hook above the stove and set it onto a burner. He struck a match from the many boxes they'd stacked up beside the sugar bowl and lit the stove.

It was going to be okay, right? Just fifteen days. Fifteen days and he wouldn't have to eat by himself, walk by himself, talk to himself. Just fifteen days and he, his mother, and Itachi could try their best to be a family again. Then maybe everything would be alright.

An hour later, after several trials at cooking something edible, Sasuke sat, alone, at the dining room table with a bowl of rice, a plate of potatoes, and a bowl of cherry tomatoes. "Is the food okay, Itachi?" he asked the empty seat beside him to amuse himself. "I made rice, just like Kakashi said I should."

He cleaned the dishes himself half an hour later, having eaten only the tomatoes and a quarter of the rice. The rushing water from the faucet seemed awkward in the eerie silence. Without any homework, there wasn't really anything to do.

Except train.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

The lights suddenly flickered on. A puzzled Itachi entered, half-tired, half-alert. "Sasuke?" he called to the darkness, but the void gave no reply. It was strange. He knew his brother was unable to sleep due to his insomnia, yet the lights were off and there was not a single sound.

Quietly, he slipped from his shoes and relished in the thought of sleeping. Work at the supermarket had been ultimately brutal and tedious and things at the bar hadn't gone so well, either, and he'd have to go back in a mere five hours. But first, he wanted to know where his little brother had gone.

There he was, sprawled beside the couch, half of his body beneath the coffee table and the other still clinging to the couch cushions. His shirtless body was covered in a thin sheet of sweat, but his breathing had evened out.

Sighing deeply, Itachi knelt beside his brother, taking note of the returning bruise on his cheek and the bandages on his arm. He had been training again, he knew – training so much that he passed out. With practiced ease, Itachi gathered Sasuke in his arms and began carrying him to his room.

"Goodnight, Sasuke," he said to the motionless figure. He set the alarm beside his brother's bed and walked to his own room to collapse onto his own bed.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke could just _feel_ a routine beginning to happen:

**6:00** – Come to consciousness due to an annoying alarm clock buzzer. Walk around aimlessly before figuring out the direction to the bathroom.

**6:05** – Say good morning to a nonexistent brother and take a shower.

**6:20** – Wear random clothing. Adjust prosthesis.

**6:30** – Eat toaster waffles.

**6:40** – Get bag and get out.

**7:10** – Finally make it to school early enough to sit alone in first period.

In the case of that day, Sasuke sat alone in the locker room, undressing into his sweat pants and t-shirt, switching his leg to its second mode, and resting his head on the cool metal of the locker. He considered going to sleep then and there, had it not been for his insomnia.

Who just _happened_ to come walking into the locker room five minutes later, singing softly beneath his breath? Sasuke thought he'd give himself a hint: it started with "N" and ended with "aruto."

Naruto began undressing, still singing and completely oblivious to Sasuke's presence in the small corner of the lockers. It was only when he'd finished putting on his shirt did he notice another living being.

"Sasuke," he said simply, staring at the Uchiha. Sasuke merely stared at him with weary, obsidian eyes. Naruto stared back. He opened his mouth to say something, closed it, and sneered before turning around.

"Asshole."

Naruto was about to turn around and retort when someone's familiar voice boomed in the echoing room. "Naruto!"

Kiba appeared, laughing as he clapped his friend on the back. "You should've heard the joke Sai – Uchiha."

_Was he in _every_ one of Naruto's classes?_

"Is he bothering you?"

"No, just drop it, Kiba," replied Naruto. "He's not worth it."

Kiba flipped Sasuke off, who ignored it (reminding himself of his fighting consequences by the jittering pain in his jaw), and turned back to Naruto. "Anyway, you know that the seniors are going to be joining us for the next four P.E. classes? That means we'll be seeing a whole lot of Neji, Lee, and Sai around."

"That's awesome! More people to endure Gai's torture _with_ us!" exclaimed Naruto.

Gai was _insane_. He was lock-me-up-in-a-padded-white-cell-and-throw-away-the-key insane. The only person as insane as he was was Lee, his prized pupil. They both had awkward bowl-cuts, unbelievably thick eyebrows, and wore spandex when doing some sort of physical activity.

Sasuke got to experience their – uniqueness? – firsthand when Gai welcomed him with, literally, open arms. The older man embraced Sasuke in a fierce hug, tears streaming down his cheeks as he said, "I have heard of your spirited youthfulness from my adorable student, Lee! It is my youth's great honor to have you as a student!"

And then, with a shining flash in his unbelievably-white teeth, he pointed to the track and said, "One hundred laps! Or you all fail! Go, my youthful students of YOUTH!"

Sasuke looked at him with such an incredulous face that Shikamaru, walking lazily behind him, took pity on his confusion and said, "He doesn't really mean it. That's his way of saying free time, as long as you spend it on the track."

Sasuke quietly thanked him, choosing to spend the rest of the period walking around the track beside the lazy boy and his comrade.

"Nara Shikamaru," the boy said with a yawn. "We haven't been properly introduced. This is Chouji."

Chouji smiled through a mouthful of chips and gave a wave.

". . . Uchiha Sasuke."

Well, at least they were two less enemies of his.

Pre Calculus with Professor Hayate, after having changed secretly in the shower stalls, was a cinch for Sasuke, considering that all he had to do was sit back and watch the other students struggle on their review sheet. He had never liked math, but he'd been top of his class for ten years. He wasn't about to fail something because he didn't like it.

Surprisingly, after Health with Mr. Zabuza Momochi and his assistant, Haku, and then a beginning of Chemistry, Naruto hadn't talked to him. He hadn't so much glanced in his direction since P.E. That is, until Kakashi personally came to collect them when the bell to lunch had rung.

"Kakashi, I'm _hungry!"_ Naruto had whined, still not acknowledging Sasuke. "Granny didn't make me breakfast when she left and the chef has his vacation! Let me go buy something from the cafeteria!"

"It's not my problem," replied Kakashi, dragging the blond boy to his office. Sasuke followed silently. Kakashi glanced over in his direction. "How was it yesterday?"

"I passed out."

Wow. Simple, clean, to the point, Mr. Blunt.

Kakashi stopped dragging Naruto briefly to stare at Sasuke. "What have I told you about training for more than an hour?"

"There was nothing to do."

"There are these things called books. I'm not sure if you've heard of them, but they're quite popular where I come from," said Kakashi sarcastically. He resumed Naruto's dragging. "What happened when you woke up? Was Itachi there?"

"I woke up in my bed at the sound of my alarm clock," said Sasuke in his monotonous voice. "No Itachi."

Kakashi sighed, threw open his door, and threw in Naruto. He closed it when Sasuke strolled in. The two teenagers took seats on opposite sides of the room. Naruto chose a neon orange beanbag, mumbling how he loved orange. Sasuke, sitting on a blue beanbag, looked at his orange shoelaces. Kakashi sat at his desk.

"Alright, so let's begin our first session on getting to know each other," said Kakashi. "You're going to play a game of '20 questions'. Who wants to go first?"

Sasuke and Naruto glared at each other.

"Alright then, Sasuke, you go first."

Silence.

"Sasuke."

Silence.

"I'll chain you to the wall again."

Sasuke grimaced and opened his mouth to ask the first question that came to his mind. "Why are you such an asshole?"

Kakashi slammed his head on his desk.

"Alright, Naruto, _you_ go first."

"Gladly," said Naruto. "Why are you such a dick?"

Kakashi slapped himself.

"Can we please stop insulting each other with lower body parts?" he said. "I want a _real_ game of 20 questions. Naruto, you're going to start. And if you _don't_ give an appropriate question, you're getting detention. Sasuke, if you don't give an appropriate _answer_, you're getting detention as well."

Naruto grumbled, muttered a statement about child abuse, and thought of a question. "Favorite color?" he asked lamely.

"Pink," Sasuke lied monotonously.

"Sasuke."

"Blue."

"There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Kakashi," said Sasuke. "This is only making me hate him even more."

Kakashi sighed. "Alright," he said. "I'm going to go get some tea. I will be here in exactly ten minutes. I want you two to talk to each other and if I come back and see you two fighting, there's suspension in your punishments, got it?"

He left.

Naruto stared.

Sasuke glared.

Naruto glared.

Sasuke glared some more.

And then Naruto opened his mouth. "How'd you get so poor?" he asked quietly, sincerely.

"That's none of your business," snapped Sasuke.

Naruto growled. "I was just _asking_ you," he said. "You could've just stayed quietly like you always do. There's no reason to be so mean."

"You don't even realize how private that question is. I can't believe you expected me to answer."

"I didn't."

"So why'd you ask it?"

"Because I was curious."

"So you _were_ expecting an answer."

"I liked you better when you were silent."

Sasuke said nothing else, glaring at the blond affront of him. "Do you live with your grandmother?"

"What's it to you?"

"She's my doctor. I know her well."

Sasuke remembered that he'd need to go and see his mother today. He'd have to skip out on training and go straight to her from school.

"I'll tell her to stop taking care of whatever she takes care of. What do you go to her for, anyway?"

"Private questions, Uzumaki. Private questions."

"Asshole."

Silence.

"Why are you such a jerk?" Naruto asked a while later.

"Why do you assume I am?"

"Because you keep trying to get a start out of me."

"That doesn't mean I speak the same way to everyone."

"You don't speak to anyone in the first place."

"Maybe I just don't feel like speaking."

"What is your _problem?"_

"My only problem happens to be an annoying blond who won't shut the hell up!"

"Did you have a bad childhood or something? Is all that trauma what got you so worked up?"

Sasuke's snarl turned feral. "Kakashi telling you about that was a mistake, do you understand me? You speak to _no one_ about it or I'll see to your death!"

"What happened, anyway?" asked Naruto, ignoring the threat. He placed his hands behind his head and leaned back. "To you nine months ago, like Kakashi said?"

Sasuke chose to silently glare at the blond.

"Come on, Mr. Perfect," said Naruto. "You can't keep it bottled up inside of you forever."

"That's why I've got people."

"Is Kakashi like, your therapist or something?"

Glare.

"He _is!"_

"I never said he was."

"I take your silences as yeses."

Silence.

"Why are you so oblivious?" Sasuke asked after a while. Kakashi would be back in a minute.

"Huh?"

Naruto dumbly stared at Sasuke, sitting upright.

"You don't notice that the people around you are just . . . never mind."

"Wait, wait, you were going to say something!"

But Kakashi chose that time to enter, a fresh brew of tea in his hand and a high-like expression on his face. He took one look at the slightly-angered-but-too-indifferent-to-change-expressions Sasuke to the standing, arm-outstretched Naruto.

"It seems like there _was_ a bit of chatting going around," said Kakashi, placing his tea onto his desk. "So, did you learn anything new?"

"I learned that he's a bigger jerk than I made him out to be," spat Naruto.

"Likewise."

Kakashi facepalmed himself.

The joys of being the guidance counselor.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

The second Sasuke finished Chemistry, he raced from the room, gathered his things from his locker, and ran out of the school before anyone tried to stop him.

But someone _did_ stop him.

More like some _people._

Before he could reach the door, an arm pulled onto his, tugging him roughly into an empty classroom. The door closed and Sasuke turned to look up to the towering figure that had pulled him in. It was a man-like teenager with a burly-built body and menacing eyes. Sasuke could hold himself up in any fight, but this – man? – looked like he could bring him down with the flick of a fingernail.

There were four other people behind him: a girl with fuchsia hair, a boy reminiscent of Iruka, another lanky boy with baby-bluish hair, and yet another boy with bizarre white hair. They stood in an intimidating manner, but Sasuke set his emotionless mask into action.

"Do you mind telling me what you're doing?" he asked in a low tone, glaring into the eyes of the burly teen.

"You're that fucking Uchiha kid, am I right?" said the girl in a bossy tone.

Sasuke stared at her with a raised eyebrow. Who did she think she –

Someone slapped him across the face.

"When Tayuya speaks, you answer her!" barked the burly teen.

Sasuke rubbed his cheek, tasting the blood in his mouth.

"Who the _fuck_ do you think you are?" he yelled, turning to the burly teen. "You can't just expect me to –"

And suddenly, he was on the floor with a weight on top of him. That weight just-so-happened to be an enormous teenager. The teen with the bluish hair covering his right eye knelt before Sasuke, allowing the Uchiha to get a better look at the blue eye shadow and lip-liner he wore.

"We like you, kid," he said. Had Sasuke's windpipe not been unusable, he would have snapped that he wasn't a kid. "We like you a lot, but we _don't_ like you with a big mouth." Sasuke's eyes clearly asked what they wanted.

"We're the Sound Five," said Tayuya. "And we'd like to be the Sound _Six_ for gang reasons, and since the sorry asses in this school aren't worth it, and you've got a hell load of money to help us out, then we thought maybe we could persuade you to join us." She stared at Sasuke's reddening face. "Jirobo, get off the kid!"

The second Jirobo did, Sasuke bounced to his feet and managed to knock Jirobo to the floor with a body slam. "Not gonna happen," he spat and made for the door. The Iruka-like teen followed after him and managed to slam into his side before Sasuke could reach the door. Sasuke slid several feet on the tiled ground to crash into a nearby desk.

"Then we'll have to force you in, Uchiha," growled the teen.

Sasuke spat the blood that had collected in his mouth onto the ground. He needed a plan. _Any_ plan, even if it was as stupid as –

"Kakashi!"

Wow, they _were_ dense. The second he'd exclaimed the teacher's name, the students stiffened and turned to the window where he'd pointed. Sasuke took this time to shakily stand and run to the door, wrenching it open. The school was deserted, save for one person . . .

Sasuke quickly turned on his heels, hoping the person didn't notice, but it was too late.

"Sasuke?" the man called, loud enough for the Sound Five within the room to hear. Sasuke suspected that was the only reason they weren't chasing after him. "Sasuke, I want to talk to you."

"Not now, Kakashi, I'm busy," said Sasuke.

The man's hand was on his shoulder, spinning him around. He heard the stifled gasp at the blood dribbling down his chin from his mouth and the ever-growing bruise on his cheek.

"What happened?" he immediately asked. "Was it Naruto?"

Sasuke turned from his grasp and walked away. "No, it wasn't," he said. "Just drop it, Kakashi." But Kakashi was persistent.

"If it's anyone else, you should tell me."

"I don't feel like it."

The hand was on his shoulder again.

"What has gotten _into_ you?"

"_Everything_ has gotten into me!" the younger one barked, wrenching from Kakashi's grasp and turning to run. Kakashi called after him, but he kept running. It felt like he was running from the world, the way the breeze bit at his face, the way the sun seemed to illuminate the ground before him, like he was running from anything and everything. But it was temporary. He soon stopped beneath a shady tree to catch his breath.

He could see the hospital over the ocean of hills and streets and forest of trees as he took the long route (the way _not_ through the entirety of the village). It stood, beckoning Sasuke over, and his legs obeyed. He followed the streets to reach its automatic entrance.

"Sasuke!" Shizune called from her front desk, recognizing the shadow at the doors. "It's been a while!"

Sasuke quickly wiped the blood on his lip with the back of his hand and walked forward. Nevertheless, Shizune brought her hand to her mouth to stifle a gasp. "Are you alright?" she immediately asked. "That bruise looks painful."

"No, no, I'm fine," supplied Sasuke. "I'm here to see my mother."

Shizune brightened and pointed down the hall. "Room thirty-six. She's probably awake as ever." She laughed. "She's quite the energetic woman!"

Sasuke thanked her quietly and moved quickly through the halls, hoping Tsunade wasn't prowling about. The door to thirty-six had two clipboards in it. The first one said _Uchiha Mikoto_ and it was all Sasuke needed to knock on the door. There was giggling coming from inside and Mikoto's voice rang.

_"Oh darling, it looks _wonderful_ on you!"_

Confused, Sasuke opened the door. Two heads turned to stare at him. The first was his mother's, her obsidian eyes wide. The second was . . . wait, Sasuke knew her from somewhere . . . Hinata? And she was wearing his mother's hat.

"Oh, Sasuke!" chirped his mother. "Doesn't that hat look absolutely -?" but she stopped short when she saw her son's face.

Sasuke stood awkwardly by the door, taking in his mother's appearance. Her skin had turned sallow, but her eyes still showed she was lively as ever. There weren't any wires connected to her except one that looked like an IV drip, with a yellowish liquid floated within.

Ignoring the other girl in the room, he strode to his mother in six large steps and embraced her tightly. There was nothing more he wanted in the world than for his mother to come home, safe, and for Itachi to stop the madness he had gotten himself into.

Mikoto rubbed her son's back soothingly. She waited for his shoulders to stop shaking (a clear indication that he was holding back all his emotions) to ask him what had happened. Sasuke stayed in the embrace like a five-year-old as he told her.

"Everything's going horribly _wrong,"_ he said.

"Where's Itachi?"

"He didn't tell you?"

"I haven't seen him since Sunday," said Mikoto. Sasuke released himself from the embrace and pulled a chair to his mother's bedside. The sun's rays from the outside lit the room perfectly from the pulled-back curtains. Sasuke stared at Hinata, who stared back, noticed she was being stared _at,_ and turned away shyly. The girl was hooked to a heart monitor and an IV drip, with several bottles of medicine and needles at her bedside table.

"Have you met Hinata?" said Mikoto. "She says she's seen you around the school! She is the most charming girl I have ever met!"

"Chemistry," was all Sasuke supplied, turning back to stare at his mother. "Itachi works for seventeen hours."

Had Mikoto _not _been sitting up, she would have jerked forward, but her eyes merely widened. "That boy is working for _seventeen hours?!"_ she exclaimed. She pouted. "The next time he comes here, I'm going to give him a taste of Mikoto Medicine."

"He _won't_ be coming here," replied Sasuke. "Mom, he works night _and_ day. I don't even get to see him anymore!"

"Why does he work like that? I'm coming back in a little while! The fevers are going away and the medicine is really helping!"

Sasuke shook his head, wondering if his mother really knew how expensive the medicine was.

"How are you getting along?"

"Toaster waffles and whatever I can make for dinner," he said. "Itachi sets my alarm every night."

Mikoto tenderly brushed her son's hair from his eyes, smiling sadly at him. "What about the bruises?" she asked. "It looks like you've hit into another door."

"Mom!"

She giggled and exchanged glances with Hinata. Sasuke secretly questioned the presence of the girl. He knew she was the famous daughter of the Hyuuga Empire, and being a Hyuuga, they should have been able to afford a private room. So why was it that she was placed with his mother?

"Alright, what _really_ happened?"

Sasuke motioned to his bruised cheek. "This thing?" he asked. He smirked. "I'm on the boxing team."

"You skinny little thing?" exclaimed Mikoto, laughing. Sasuke pouted, feigning a hurtful glance. He loved the way he could act around his mother, as if everything was perfectly fine.

"You don't think I'm strong enough?"

"Honey," said Mikoto, giving another giggle, "I've seen you get knocked over by wind."

"Har, har," he said sarcastically.

Hinata had been silently giggling as well, trying her best to stifle it. Mikoto noticed this and laughed once more. "Hinata, sweetie, you can laugh out loud if you want! He may look like a meanie, but he won't _bite_ you!"

Sasuke would like to beg to differ.

"I've been punched three times and slapped once on this bruise," he finally concluded, to his mother's wide eyes. He lifted up his shirt to reveal the new bandages across his chest. "Punched in the chest." He rolled up his sleeve. "Slit on the arm."

"What the _heck_ has been going on since I left?" she demanded, all playfulness gone from her voice. "Who's hurting you?"

"It's no big deal," said Sasuke. "School has been one of the crappiest places I have _ever_ been. This one guy is out to get me and Kakashi is trying to make us friends. I made the track team, though, but I couldn't beat my old record."

"Oh, stop changing the subject!" A troubled frown crossed her face. "Who is this guy that's out to get you?"

"You should rest, mom."

"Sasuke!"

"I think Itachi wants me home."

"Itachi's at _work!"_

"Mom –"

"I _thought_ I felt the air get colder."

The door had opened again and in came Tsunade, her blond pigtails swinging behind her wildly. She smiled at Hinata, asking how she was doing. The shy girl replied that she was fine and would be expecting a visit soon. Tsunade then strode to where Sasuke stood over his mother.

"Long time, no see, brat," said Tsunade with a smirk.

"Tsunade."

"That's _Lady_ Tsunade," Mikoto and Tsunade said in unison, laughing when they'd realized what they'd done. Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"My grandson has been complaining about you for _hours!"_ complained Tsunade. "Then he calls me to ask me if I'm your doctor and demands for me to stop treating you."

"Grandson?" said Mikoto. "You mean Naruto?"

"Don't say that _name!"_ groaned Sasuke.

Tsunade frowned. "He's been cursing you since Sunday. What did you two _do_? Was he the one that gave you that bruise?"

Sasuke grumbled.

"Naruto?! I'm going to punch his lights out when I get home! What is going on between you two that you can get so _violent?_ Kakashi even had to call me up to tell me you were knocked into unconsciousness quite a bit."

"Could we _not_ talk about this?" said Sasuke darkly. "It's rather annoying."

"You can come visit your mother later, Uchiha. You're coming with me for an examination."

"What if I don't want to?"

"I love you, too, sweetie," said Mikoto with a smile. "But you really should go for a checkup since Itachi won't be able to make any more appointments."

"The bigger brat tells me he's working overtime," said Tsunade. "He must really love you."

Mikoto smiled, then turned to face her other son. "Come on, Sasuke. You probably need a checkup. And maybe some rest." She took note of his sunken eyes.

"I'm an insomniac, remember?"

Mikoto frowned at this and turned to Tsunade. "Isn't there _anything_ we can do about that?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No more medicine. With the amount of medication he takes, plus the weekly injections, any more doses of things can be lethal. Not to mention the fact that it wouldn't be good since Uchiha over here thinks food is out to get him." She poked him in the ribs. "You're so bony! Get some meat on your skin!"

Sasuke scoffed and grabbed onto his mother's bed's handles. "I'm not leaving. Do the examination here."

Tsunade stared.

Sasuke glared.

Tsunade glared.

Sasuke glared harder.

Tsunade sighed. "Fine," she said, throwing her hands in the air. "You Uchihas and your damn pride! I'll get the stuff. You are going to be in _so much_ pain."

Sasuke smirked at her retreating back. Mikoto stifled giggles behind her hand, which turned into coughs, which turned into violent coughs. Sasuke stood from his seat, alarmed. "Are you alright?"

"It's just a little cough!" said his mother. "It's nothing compared to the fevers I've had for a while."

Sasuke retreated hesitantly, sitting down and busying himself with the watching of Hinata, who was shyly twiddling her thumbs. Tsunade came back in with a little kit in her arms. She dragged a chair to sit affront of Sasuke and sat down. The only reason Sasuke had allowed himself to be checked in the presence of Hinata was because he knew his figure would be obscured from the way he was cornered between his mother's bed and the wall.

"Alright, Uchiha, let's see how you've been treating yourself."

Tsunade rolled up the leg of Sasuke's pants to reveal the prosthesis beneath. She lifted it in her hands, examining the detail in it, checking to see if its modes had been correctly changed. Sasuke looked outside the window throughout the entire procedure. He could vaguely see the outline of the school over the many trees that littered Konoha.

_Damn school._

Tsunade scribbled a few things onto her clipboard, rolled down Sasuke's pants, and handed Sasuke his assessment sheet as she unscrewed a tube of ointment. Sasuke absentmindedly checked the boxes for _Excellent _and _Never_ as Tsunade applied the ointment to his cheek. She told him she'd have a talk with Naruto, but he wasn't really listening. He wanted her to leave so he'd be with his mother. He wanted _everyone_ to leave so that the only remaining humans in the world were him, Itachi, and his mother so that they would be free; so that they wouldn't have to worry about tomorrow, or about finances, or scholarships, or anything else.

Tsunade cast Sasuke a concerned look and whispered to Mikoto, finding the blank gaze of his eyes eerie. She gave the Uchiha medicine and told him that it would make him feel drowsy and would probably force his system to sleep in a few hours before leaving the two of them, warning Sasuke that he should go home before the medicine kicked in.

Sasuke didn't feel like going home. He took his mother's hand in his and laid his head on her bed. She stroked his hair.

"Mom, why is life being so unfair to us?" he whispered, closing his eyes.

She smiled sadly. He was already asleep – _finally_ asleep – before she had the chance to answer. "Nobody said it was fair coming in," she whispered back.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke awoke to a gentle hand on his shoulder and a deep, weary voice in his ear.

"Sasuke, come on," it said, and then sighed. "I'm too tired to carry you out. You have to wake up."

"It's the medicine," came a feminine voice. "He should be a bit dizzy, so you'll need to help him. I'm sorry for making you come all this way."

"It's alright. Sasuke, come on."

Sasuke opened his eyes to stare at a mirror. Blinking away the blurs, he realized his mirror was, in fact, his older brother. There were bags beneath his eyes and the red veins on his eyeballs had become prominent, but his emotionless mask was in place.

Sasuke lifted his head and stared around. He was still in the hospital, and the sunlight outside had deteriorated. Mikoto was sleeping, her hand still grasped in Sasuke's. She did not stir when Sasuke let go.

Itachi motioned for Sasuke to get up. Sasuke, however, looked across the room to where a new addition to the room sat and stared at him: Neji. He sat affront of a sleeping Hinata. Sasuke noticed the resemblance in their unusual, pale gray eyes. They were _both_ Hyuugas, yet he'd only heard of Hinata's side. So why . . .?

Sasuke dizzily stood up, feeling the room spin, and Itachi took him by the arm.

"For goodness sake, Itachi, get some sleep," said Tsunade. "Call in sick or something. I'll even give you a doctor's note!"

"I am unable to do so, Lady Tsunade," replied Itachi. "These are matters that are even out of my own hands."

"But _seventeen hours?!_ At least tune it down a bit."

Itachi merely stared at her.

"Goodbye, Lady Tsunade," said Itachi. Out of politeness, he nodded his head towards Neji, who acknowledged the parting and nodded as well. Sasuke met Neji's eyes.

"Hyuuga," he said.

"Uchiha."

And Sasuke left the hospital.

"Why are you here?" he asked Itachi as they entered their car. "And with the car, too. Did you just come back from work?"

"Lady Tsunade called me up," replied his brother. "She told me about the situation and knew you'd sleep in the hospital if you didn't go home. There was no one to drive you, and you couldn't go staggering through the entire neighborhood in the dark, so I was told to come and pick you up."

"But . . . but doesn't that mean you left your second job?"

Itachi stared at his brother briefly as they drove to their apartment. He smirked. "My boss allowed it," he said. "He says I've been working too hard."

"Ain't that the truth," said Sasuke, mimicking a Southern drawl. Itachi's smirk widened as he parked the car.

"Potatoes and tomatoes?" asked Itachi, indicated what they'd eat for dinner. Sasuke shook his head.

"You don't learn, do you? It's tomatoes and potatoes."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

_Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . ._

_Bzz . . . Bzz . . . BZZ!!!!_

Sasuke didn't feel like getting up. He was tired. _Really_ tired. He hadn't trained at all, yet he'd fallen asleep (unconscious?) after dinner, and the aftereffects were still with him. There was also a sudden, pounding headache in his skull.

Maybe if he was lucky, he was sick.

Sluggishly, he left his bed into the presence of an empty house, rummaging around in a drawer for a thermometer. When he'd found it, he stuck it in his mouth and continued to wander around the house, laying out clothes as the mercury rose.

_Damn,_ he thought, checking the temperature. _98.3._

Shower.

Dressing.

Toaster waffles.

And out the door he went.

The walk to school seemed unbelievably lengthy and the sidewalk seemed to sway. Feeling that it would be more appropriate, he took the shorter route through the town rather than walking the longer route like he always did, just like he'd done with the hospital the previous day.

"Sasuke!"

That was probably the main reason why he didn't walk through the town. There were too many people, too many noises, and too many distractions. Sasuke turned to stare at Kotetsu and Izumo.

"We haven't seen you for a while!" said Izumo.

"Catch!"

Kotetsu had thrown a wrapped bagel into his hands.

"You look like you haven't eaten for a while," said Izumo. "Besides, if you have anyone like Gai as a P.E. teacher, you should know that you need a good meal to regain your sanity."

For once, Sasuke smirked. "Thanks," he told the two clerks. He put the bagel in his weightless bag and wandered off, seeing the school ahead of him. He must have been later than usual because there were already parked cars and several students entering the building.

The first bell rang, indicating that he needed to get to Psychology quickly or he would gain his first tardy in sixteen years. He didn't hasten, though. He didn't see a point. Naruto was in Psychology, and so was Kiba, and they were like ten band classes – ten loud, obnoxious band classes. Their insane Psychology teacher didn't help much, either.

He took a seat in the corner as the bell rang and rested his head. Throughout the entire class, he'd been in the same position, staring blankly at the whiteboard and listening to gibberish. There was not a single word that Jiraiya said that went through his mind and stayed there.

"Uchiha, did you figure out the theory in that segment?" Jiraiya asked him. All eyes were immediately on his motionless figure, who didn't realize he was being stared at until Kiba poked him rudely in the back with a pencil. His head gave a start.

"I'm sorry," he murmured. "I wasn't listening."

Jiraiya frowned, trying to decipher the boy affront of him. "Well, just try to pay attention next time. Naruto, what about you?"

The answer was unknown to Sasuke. He'd already sunken back into his dream state.

English was no better. Ms. Kurenai had given the class their essay questions for their exams, telling them that they'd have to pick two of three to write about. She gave Sasuke a worksheet about a poem and told him to decipher its meaning.

He took his pencil, laid his head down, and wrote two words. _Uchiha Sasuke._ The rest of the page beneath was completely blank. At the end of class, Kurenai stared at him with her scarlet eyes as Jiraiya had done, but came up with nothing. She told him that although he wasn't getting a mark for the first semester, he could at least _try._

Sasuke didn't go to P.E.

For the first time, he'd skipped a class. He didn't think it was necessary, either. The way he'd seen it, it was either go to class and pass out, or skip it, rest in the locker room, and carry on with the day. He wanted to get through at least _one day_ without passing out, getting into a fight, or leaving a classroom.

Speaking of fights, Naruto gave him an odd look when he realized that Sasuke wasn't dressing for P.E. Neji stared at him as well, having come from the senior class, and the boy named Sai cocked his head to the side before the entirety of the boys left.

Sasuke considered skipping Pre Calculus as well, but figured that he wouldn't be able to get a doctor's excuse from that, so he took a seat in the far back where Hayate wouldn't see his eyes closed.

When lunch came, Kakashi greeted him in the hallways, took him and a passing Naruto by the arm, and dragged them through the crowd. Naruto whined. Sasuke stumbled.

"You don't look too good, Sasuke," commented Kakashi, seeing the way Sasuke's feet struggled to cooperate. "Have you been training again?"

"No," Sasuke said truthfully. "Medication effects."

Kakashi had them sit in the usual beanbag chairs and told them to hang tight as he left to get a cup of tea. Naruto complained that he was hungry, but Kakashi slammed the door, locking them in.

Something heavy suddenly hit the blonde's head.

He stared down at a wrapped bagel that had fallen into his lap. Sasuke was leaning wearily onto another beanbag, closing his eyes.

"What the hell is this?" asked Naruto venomously.

"A bagel."

"Why did you throw it at my head?"

"So you'd shut up."

Naruto threw the bagel back. "I don't want it."

"It's rude to throw food," said Sasuke, his eyes still closed. He felt the bagel hit lightly into his stomach and picked it up. "I'm not going to eat it."

"Well neither am I. It's probably poisoned."

"If I'd had it, why would I poison my own food?"

"You were probably planning this from the beginning."

Sasuke stood, swayed, and steadied himself to walk to Kakashi's desk, placing the wrapped bagel onto it before sitting back down. Naruto stared longingly at it, hearing the rumble his stomach gave, but refused to do anything about it.

Pride was a damn sin, and now he knew why.

Kakashi came back with tea and two clipboards. He handed one to Naruto and one to Sasuke. There was a sheet of information on it that Kakashi apparently expected them to fill out.

"You _are_ going to fill this information out," Kakashi explained, throwing them pens. "And when you're done, you'll exchange these papers and see how much you two have in common. I want these done by the end of this session and you guys can think over it in your following classes."

Kakashi went to work on his computer, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to stare at the sheets ahead of them. He raised his eyebrow at the sudden presence of the bagel and decided he'd investigate it later. Sasuke didn't feel like writing anything comprehendible. Naruto was too busy doodling a picture of a cheap imitation of Sasuke being eaten by a fish. He later claimed it was a shark.

**Favorite Food:** the paper said. Sasuke drew a tomato for the hell of it. His headache worsened as he looked over the rest of the words. The black letters turned into black dots, which turned into black blurs, which made his head spin. He resorted to laying his head back on the wall, closing his eyes, and gulping down whatever was beginning to rise in his throat.

**Write about a favorite hobby of yours.**

_Training _Sasuke scribbled.

**Write about a favorite memory.**

_Not training._

He skipped a large field of questions and statements and turned the page over, where a single statement was written on the top: **Draw or write everything on your mind at the current moment.**

Sasuke rather enjoyed that part. At first, he drew a detailed cartoon of Naruto being run down by an angry mob of clowns. Gai's haunting face came into his memory, and he drew that as well, but then his headache overpowered him. Pictures of money, of hospital beds, of skulls, of tears, of puzzled and worry faces, of bloody lips, of sparks and sparkles and explosions and finally, eyes. Just eyes. Angry eyes, crying eyes, evil eyes, whatever. It was the only thing he could think of.

For a moment, the headache became so overwhelming that his brain briefly stopped functioning and his body went limp. His head slid sideways on the wall until he landed on the beanbag chair next to him, his hands falling limp as well as his clipboard clattering to the floor. Naruto noticed this, but Kakashi, who had his earphones in, did not.

Naruto didn't like the way Sasuke wasn't moving.

"Kakashi," Naruto called loudly to the teacher. "Um, Kakashi!"

Kakashi finally turned around and took his earphones out, staring at the blond. "Fighting already?"

Naruto pointed to Sasuke. Kakashi, alarmed, jumped from his chair and fell to his knees beside the Uchiha.

"Sasuke!" he said, patting the boy's cheeks. "Sasuke, wake up!"

"I'm okay, Kakashi," Sasuke called weakly, still not moving.

"What happened? Are you sick?"

"No, I checked my temperature this morning."

Kakashi removed his right-hand glove and felt the motionless boy's forehead. He pulled it back, scalded, and then exited the room. Sasuke took the time to slap himself to reality, trying his best to pull himself together, just in case Kakashi would try and make him leave. He sat upright and noticed Naruto staring at him.

"What?"

"Nothing."

Kakashi came back with a thermometer and ordered Sasuke to place it between his tongue. Sasuke protested, saying he'd already check his temperature, but Kakashi wanted to make sure. When Sasuke _still_ would not agree, the older man squeezed his jaw and stuck it in, holding the Uchiha's head in place as the mercury rose at alarming rates.

"One-hundred two."

Naruto whistled.

"And you still came to school?" said Kakashi incredulously. "Didn't Itachi try to stop you?"

"I told you," replied the Uchiha, finally moving his head weakly against the wall. "I don't see Itachi anymore when he's at work."

Kakashi sighed and stood. "This madness has got to stop," he mumbled. Without further words or questioning (because he knew that if he tried to get Sasuke home, the boy would only refuse), he took Naruto's clipboard from his hand and Sasuke's from the floor and exchanged them respectively. Sasuke and Naruto immediately folded the papers and pocketed them without a second glance as the bell rang.

"Tomorrow," was all Kakashi said. "Read over each others' papers."

Sasuke left without another word to shop class, where Kankuro was busy with introducing the review packet to his students.

He'd almost forgotten track when it came around had Genma not stopped him in the halls to congratulate him for the umpteenth time. Not wanting another incident like the previous one, Sasuke left all his books in his locker and hurried to the locker rooms to change. No one was present.

Without a single hesitation, Sasuke quickly undressed and redressed, staring around once more when he was finished to make sure no one had been watching. Before anyone could come, he exited the room, his bag slung over his shoulder.

Genma was already there, sitting on the corner of the bleachers with his clipboard over his face, his hands behind his head, and another toothpick in his mouth. Noticing Sasuke come, he raised an eyebrow.

"What's been happening to you?" he asked, indicating the bruises on Sasuke's face and then the long scab along Sasuke's arm. Sasuke kept quiet as he lay his bag down and walked to the field. "Not much of a talker, eh?"

Sasuke responded with silence, an answer in itself.

He set himself to stretching, splitting his legs and reaching for his toes. Genma whistled to show how impressed he was, then looked to where Naruto had just emerged. The blond greeted him and then walked to where Sasuke bent himself in two of the floor. The Uchiha noticed his presence with the ever-growing shadow.

"I saw your paper," said Naruto. He began to stretch as well. "What are the eyes for?"

Silence.

"Did you read mine?"

Silence.

_No, I must've forgotten,_ Sasuke thought sarcastically.

"If we're going to work things out, you're going to need to talk, you know," said Naruto, his short fuse living up to itself. But Sasuke simply stayed silent. Naruto threw his hands in the air. "_I_ don't need this kind of therapy! It's _you_ that isn't playing your part! If you weren't such an _asshole_, I wouldn't need to skip every damn lunch to be taught how to be _friendly!"_

Sasuke twisted himself for a stretch. Infuriated, Naruto thrust out his foot and kicked Sasuke in the leg . . . the left one. He was immediately left with pain in his toe. Sasuke's eyes widened.

"What the _fuck?!_" exclaimed Naruto. "What is with your leg?!"

Thinking quickly, Sasuke set his face into its emotionless mask once more. "Shin guards," he said, speaking at last. "I go straight from track to soccer."

Naruto grumbled, nursing his toe and calling Sasuke obscenities beneath his breath. He walked to where Neji, Kiba, and Lee had just come.

Genma had them run laps continuously for the entire practice, counting how many laps each person could do by the end of forty-five minutes. It seemed, however, that Sasuke could not last through a single track session, because upon coming on his twentieth lap, his knees buckled.

Naruto, who was directly behind him on his thirteenth lap trying to trip him, ended up tripping over the obsidian-haired boy and flying forwards to land on the field.

"What the hell are you trying to do?" he exclaimed, watching Sasuke struggle to stand. "You could've killed me!"

"Shut _up!_" Sasuke growled. He was trying to figure out why he'd fallen. There was something wrong . . .

. . . He couldn't feel his left leg.

_Shit,_ he thought. _I forgot to switch modes! Tsunade is going to have my head!_

"What's going on?" asked Neji and Lee simultaneously, coming to a stop affront of the two boys sprawled on the ground. Sasuke had managed to stay on his right knee, his left leg hanging limply beneath him.

"Is there something wrong with your leg, Sasuke?" said Lee. He bent down, but the Uchiha turned away.

"When one of you passes Genma again, could you ask him to bring Kakashi out?" the Uchiha asked, struggling to get into a seated position.

"I'll just cut across the field and –"

"No," Sasuke interrupted Neji. "You don't have to do that. I can wait here as long as I want to. You need to make the team."

Neji smirked. "Being nice for once, Uchiha?" he said. "It doesn't matter. I'm going to make the team because Genma knows my skills. You're obviously injured."

"Perhaps we should carry you back?" suggested Lee.

"Maybe you shouldn't have been so stupid to put your shin guards on first," said Naruto. "They probably cut your circulation off. Take them off and you should be back to your bastardly self."

Sasuke didn't reply. Neji ran across the field to contact Genma as Lee tried his best to help the Uchiha into a sitting position where his leg would "feel more youthful." Sasuke made sure his prosthesis looked like an injured leg rather than an unmoving imitation.

Kakashi and Genma came running onto the field, Neji following them.

"What's wrong?" asked Kakashi, wondering why Sasuke would want him specifically.

"My left leg," said Sasuke. "I think I might've _overpowered _it." He shot the older man a pointed look. Kakashi understood immediately.

"I think we should get you to Lady Tsunade," he said as he began to gather the teenager in his hands with a grunt. "She'll take care of it."

"Next practice is Monday, Uchiha," said Genma. "Get well."

When they were out of earshot, the first thing Kakashi said was, "What did you do this time?"

"I didn't switch modes," replied the Uchiha, peeved. He didn't like to be carried by anyone but his brother. "I was in such a hurry that I guess I forgot."

"Can you fix it, or do we need to get Lady Tsunade?"

"It just needs to be recharged."

"I'll call Itachi and – oh yeah."

They were silent for a while. In the end, Kakashi decided that he'd be the one to drive the Uchiha home. Sasuke went home that night to yet another empty apartment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] (Directions to Green Lane)** Green Lane is actually my old address, and the directions Neji gave are 100% true.


	6. I Wish it would Rain

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . ha, say goodbye to the enterprise.

**Author's Note:** LONG author's note today! Because I have a lot to explain/say. And I'm going to pretend that didn't rhyme.

EXAMS are . . . not over, but the WORST is! I finished my History exam and now I am _so_ excited (has anyone else had to read 467 pages of Dreadnought?! It's suicide!)! And to top things off, I get to update! Ironically, my only exam left is my Arabic one . . .

Thanks to those who wished me luck! It worked!

**OI! The Please-Read Part:** Okay, I didn't like this chapter, especially the robotic-like beginning. There was a lot of explanation and whatnot, and a lot of awkward, lame concepts, but hey - it had to be done at some point, right?

Don't hate me for this chapter. But KISAME COMES IN! So whenever there's an awkward moment, he'll be there to break it!

Ladies and Gentlemen, this story is getting somewhere!

Oh, and please don't hate Naruto. Seriously. Just hold on. =)

**Chapter 6  
**…**:::I Wish it would Rain:::…  
****The Temptations**

**Warning: Lots of language in the beginning, courtesy of Tayuya.**

Sasuke didn't feel like going to school the following day, but forced himself to maintain his perfect attendance. It had been uneventful, with little contact with a certain blond. He noticed the teachers staring at him strangely, however, and commenting about how he still needed to do the work they gave them. More and more girls crowded him, bombarding him with questions (_Will you be my boyfriend? Will you marry me? What's your underwear size?). _Lunch time's session was cancelled because of a teacher's meeting and so, for the first time in the school year, Sasuke was allowed to go down to lunch.

That didn't mean he _did._

He never ate lunch anymore. He thought it would save money. Instead, he sat outside, on the bleachers, watching the clouds rumble. It eventually started to rain as he was in his last period class. Within the class, he thought about what he'd do. He decided he'd go to see his mother again, wanting someone to talk to instead of himself.

It seemed that every time he wanted to see his mother, a certain gang would be on his case. Walking towards the doors that symbolized his freedom, yet another familiar-feeling hand pulled him roughly into yet another empty classroom, this one happening to be the office for the school's newspaper. The door was slammed.

"We meet again, Uchiha."

It was Tayuya. She flipped her fuchsia bangs from her eyes and grinned menacingly. Jirobo maintained his hold on Sasuke.

"We want to know if you thought about the offer," said the Iruka look-alike. The baby-blue-haired boy and the white-haired boy seemed to be absent. "If not, we can always persuade you with better tactics than we've had before."

"Persuade me," said Sasuke coolly, staring at Tayuya directly in the eyes. She growled.

"All we need is for you to use that cocky attitude on our enemies, and your money to supply us with goods. It's as easy as that."

Sasuke had half a mind to tell them that the only thing his money would buy was a plastic mask from the dollar store that would scare a two-year-old.

"That's not very nice persuasion," replied Sasuke. He placed a smirk on his face; he couldn't resist."

"No," said the other boy. "But this is."

Jirobo tightened his hold on Sasuke's limbs the second the other boy pulled back his fist, landing a punch to Sasuke's gut. The Uchiha jerked forward, gritting his teeth against the pain.

"Willing to join now?"

"That's _my_ job, Kidomaru, you fucking asshole!"

Tayuya got her own slap in, jerking Sasuke's head to the side. Sasuke licked his lips, smirked, and said, "You give the definition of 'bitch slap'." Tayuya punched him in the same place she'd slap him.

"You fucktard," she said. "The only thing I want to come out of your mouth is your answer, and choose your words wisely!"

"Here's my answer." And despite knowing that it would only annoy them, Sasuke relished in his Uchiha pride. He relished in his arrogance. He gathered the blood in his mouth, thinned his lips, and spat straight into the face of Tayuya.

She went wild.

"You fucking brat!" she screamed. Kidomaru, who had been warily watching the door for intruders, had to run and hold the girl back, but not before she had landed a few of her own punches on Sasuke's body. As she screamed obscenities, Jirobo let go of Sasuke to help Kidomaru. The Uchiha merely landed on his knees, coughing up blood and trying his best to will the pain away.

"If anything bad happens to him, something bad'll happen to _us!"_ yelled Kidomaru, dodging a flailing limb.

"I'll kill him! I don't care if I have the entire military after me!" bellowed Tayuya. "No one does that to me!"

Ever-so-slowly, the door opened. All chaos stopped in the split second it took a person to walk in. Sasuke even held back his coughs to stare at a feminine figure approaching a desk, large bundles of paper in her hands. Sasuke recognized the figure, too.

The pink hair was a dead giveaway.

Before Sakura could turn around to realize who was in the room, Kidomaru had let go of Tayuya to sprint towards the door, slamming it shut and blocking it with a chair. He then grabbed hold of Sakura's arms the second the girl put the papers on the desk.

"What's going on?" Sakura demanded, struggling when Kidomaru pushed her towards Tayuya. "This room is off limits to anyone who isn't in charge of the school paper!"

"Haruno," sneered Tayuya.

Sakura's eyes darkened. "Tayuya." Her Granny Smith eyes swept over the room in a single glance, finding the hunched Uchiha on the floor. "Sasuke!"

"You happened to intrude on our little meeting," said Tayuya, calmed. "You can either walk out of here without telling a soul, or we can beat it out of you."

Sakura smirked. "Always one to retort to violence for lack of brains, eh, Tayuya?" she said.

"You bitch!"

With Kidomaru holding Sakura back, Tayuya slapped her. Sakura's jaw tightened, but she said nothing. Sasuke stared at her, holding his ribs tightly. He could feel one wiggle. That was _not_ a good sign.

"Kidomaru, you can have her. Make sure she tells no one."

"My pleasure!" Kidomaru said with a grin. He spun Sakura around, held her shoulders tightly, and tried to press his lips to hers. Sakura turned her head just in time, forcing Kidomaru's lips onto her cheek.

"You bastard!" she wailed, struggling to remove herself from his grip. "I can sue for sexual harassment!"

"Come on, baby," said Kidomaru. His hand caressed her stomach, moving to slip lower. "You haven't seen the best part yet!"

And suddenly, he was on the floor.

Sasuke was standing up now, his fist pulled back to administer another punch to Kidomaru's cheek. Sakura shook where she stood, her knees threatening to give out on her weight.

Sasuke _loathed_ men like Kidomaru: sick, twisted lackeys like him that thought they could get a girl with a bogus technique or two, listening to orders of a leader. That and the fact that Sakura was of the few people who had introduced themselves to him.

Someone was pounding on the door. "Sakura! Sakura, I heard you scream! What's going on?" The doorknob moved, but the chair blocked all entrance. "Sakura!"

Sasuke would've recognized the voice had his mind not been set on escaping at the moment. He took Sakura by the hand, seeing as she wasn't able to do anything for herself at the moment, and pulled her behind him. Tayuya lunged forward, but he sidestepped and allowed her to hit the floor.

Before she could get back up, and before Jirobo could come bounding forward, Sasuke ran to the door with Sakura at his heels. He cast the chair aside and flung the wall of wood open.

"He's out!" he heard Tayuya's voice. "There's someone with him! Escape through the windows!"

Sasuke ran into a figure and lost his balance. All three figures fell to become sprawled on the floor. Grumbling, the Uchiha was the first to stand and assess the situation.

He'd just run into Naruto.

Ino was running towards them.

The male blond recovered as well, quickly getting to his feet and desperately pulling Sakura with him. "Are you alright?" he asked, looking over the girl. He held her by the shoulders. Ino quickly came to their side as well. "What happened? Did he hurt you?"

Sasuke took a while to realize that Naruto was talking about him. He frowned and was about to say something when Sakura shook her head.

"It's okay," she said, still slightly shaken . . . still able to feel Kidomaru's touch on her skin. "He helped me in there. It was Kidomaru."

Naruto cussed before turning to Sasuke, allowing Ino to envelop her friend in a hug. He contemplated on what to do. Sasuke wiped blood from his lips, inwardly wincing at the ribs he'd abused several times in a variety of ways. He walked to the door he'd just come from to stare at himself in the glass window.

_Damn. Here comes that bruise again._

"Sakura, you should go home with Ino. You can edit the paper later. I'll see you guys tonight, okay?" said Naruto. Sasuke could see Sakura and Ino nod from the reflection of the window.

"Thank you," whispered Sakura. Ino nodded once more from beside her friend.

"Thanks, Uchiha."

The two girls walked off without waiting for a reply, leaving Naruto standing to the back of Sasuke, who was gingerly touching his bruise as he examined himself in the window.

"I guess you can't be a jerk all the time, Uchiha," said Naruto.

Sasuke turned around. "Is that supposed to be a thank-you?"

Naruto shook his head and held out his hand. "No, this is my way of thanking you," he said. "I owe you one."

"I don't believe in shaking hands."

He thought it was stupid. Romans did it to make sure the others' sleeves didn't contain knives. Not only were they far from Roman times, but Naruto was wearing a neon orange t-shirt with white stripes.

Naruto frowned. "You seriously don't have to be a jerk now. You just saved one of my best friends without even knowing her, so you shouldn't be as heartless as you make yourself seem."

Sasuke went back to examining himself. Naruto sighed, giving up. He muttered another thank you and walked from the school, breaking off into a run to shelter himself from the rain. Sasuke walked after him, feeling that if he didn't go to his mother's now, he might have a change of mind.

He grimaced when he saw the car waiting for Naruto: a sleek, red, Mercedes© sports convertible. Whoever was driving the car hid behind tinted windows. Naruto opened the door hastily and disappeared within.

Sasuke walked out into the rain, feeling the cold droplets wet his t-shirt and soak his pants. Perhaps his prosthesis would short-circuit and he'd fall, dying from fever? Or perhaps a car would run him over?

"Uchiha!"

Naruto's head clashed violently against the scarlet paint of his car.

"Since I owe you one, I'll offer you a ride! Granny would kill me if I left you to walk in the rain anyway!"

Sasuke shook his head and turned in the other direction, heading through a forest of trees to lose Naruto. He found himself at the hospital quicker than he'd expected with his rib, but was thoroughly soaked to the broken bone. Shizune greeted him as usual and told him his mother was awake and lively.

The hospital walls had darkened from the lack of light peeking through the clouded skies, and the sounds of the peppering rain only amplified. Sasuke entered his mother's quiet room. The weather made everything feel depressing.

Hinata was sleeping, an oxygen mask over her nose and mouth. Sasuke promptly ignored her to walk to his mother. Her eyes lit up.

"Sasuke!" she said when he came closer and took a seat at her side. "You're wet! And you're bleeding! Why is it that every time you come over, you're hurt?"

"That's not important," said Sasuke. "How are you?"

"Bored," was Mikoto's immediate reply. "Hinata recently went through surgery, so she's sleeping it off, and I haven't talked to anyone in _hours!"_

It was just like his mother to be bored.

"I meant health-wise."

"Oh," said Mikoto, grinning. "Dandy. Just dandy. What about you? You still look like an undercooked french-fry on legs!"

Sasuke smirked.

"Are you saying I'm tasty?"

"I'm saying that you're undercooked, and cold!"

"Yes, but I'm good when I'm hot."

Mikoto laughed. When her laughter died down, she sighed and said, "I missed you so much."

"Everything's so _dark_ in the apartment," replied Sasuke, laying his head down on his mother's bed and hoping she didn't notice his wince.

The door opened. Sasuke braced himself for Tsunade's loud voice, but met a different blond. It was a familiar blond. It was . . .

. . . Naruto.

The blond entered as quietly as he could, staring around to catch sign of Mikoto. He smiled and waved.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Mikoto!" he whispered cheerfully. "How are you?"

"I'm doing great, Naruto," Mikoto replied with equal cheer. "Here to see Hinata?"

Sasuke didn't think Naruto could see him from his position, but didn't opt to move.

_Please go away . . . please go away . . ._

"Oh, Naruto, you've got perfect timing! Sasuke's right here!"

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke raised his head to glare at the blond. Naruto looked mildly shocked at two things: one, at the fact that Sasuke was in the hospital – and got to it before he did, and two:

"Sasuke's your son? Your full name is Mrs. Mikoto Uchiha?"

Mikoto giggled. "He looks nothing like me, huh? He doesn't really look like his father, either. I wonder how he turned out. Don't be rude, Sasuke, say hi!"

Sasuke simply continued to glare. Wanting to keep up his manners around Mikoto, Naruto laughed nervously, placing one hand behind his head to rub his neck.

"I'll be watching Hinata," he said, retreating to the girl's bedside. "Don't mind me."

Mikoto gave a mock hurt glance at Sasuke, who minded Naruto a little. "Look what you've gone and done," she pouted.

"You love him more than me." Sasuke challenged her pout.

Mikoto set her puppy dog eyes on him. "Of course I don't."

"I can't believe you know him."

"Naruto is a fine, lovely young man," said Mikoto. "He's a gentleman with manners, something you should learn."

Sasuke scowled, not joking this time around. Mikoto noticed this and quickly said, "Oh honey, don't worry! You've got enough manners to teach the barbarians back in the day!" When Sasuke wiped away water that tickled his forehead, Mikoto continued. "You look like a giant, wet Labrador, did you know that?"

Sasuke shook his head of hair in his mother's direction. Mikoto yelped and used her spare pillow to block the water attack.

"That was playing dirty!" she laughed.

"You _did_ say I was a dog," Sasuke said with a smirk, completely forgetting the presence of the blond. Naruto watched the scene with interest. He did not believe that the smirking, sarcastically-funny boy ahead of him was the brooding Sasuke he knew.

"So if I said you were a cat, would you cuddle?"

"I'd scratch."

"A playful, cute, innocent hamster?"

"I'd run over your feet with my running wheel."

"Ooh, you're good."

Naruto found himself laughing inwardly, forcefully averting his eyes to the sleeping Hinata, whose lips were curved in a peaceful smile.

"Lo and behold!"

Tsunade made a grand entrance through the door, grinning broadly and her hands on her hips, looking as if she was Superman just after he'd saved another townsman. Her eyes found Naruto's shag of blond hair.

"Naruto!" she said, surprised. "I thought you were coming to see Hinata tomorrow!"

"It's nice to see you too, Granny," Naruto joked. "I wanted to check up on her right after her operation. How did it go?"

"Perfectly fine," replied Tsunade. She ruffled Naruto's hair. "Neji will be by next Wednesday to pick her up. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got two stubborn Uchihas to tend to."

"It runs in the family," Mikoto said proudly, grinning. Sasuke's smirk fell when he realized why Tsunade was looking at him with such intensity.

"Another bruise, Sasuke? This calls for a surprise checkup."

"I'm still not leaving my mother."

"Don't worry," said Tsunade. "I'll only be checking your other health needs. You won't need to move."

Tsunade left briefly to come back with her medical kit. Naruto watched her as she gently grabbed Sasuke's chin and turned it.

"Mikoto, tell your son he needs to stay out of trouble."

"Sasuke, stay out of trouble."

"You're such a help, dear."

"I try."

Both women giggled. Tsunade's giggles let her to squeeze Sasuke's bruise accidentally, causing the Uchiha to yelp in pain.

"Suck it up," said Tsunade, moving to his mouth.

"Not everyone is as unfeeling as you, Tsunade dear," said Mikoto with a giggle. Tsunade chose to ignore that.

"Take off your shirt, Uchiha. You'll get another fever if you don't, and I need to check your ribs. Something about your breathing isn't right."

Sasuke reluctantly removed his drenched shirt, wincing when he raised his arms. Tsunade hissed and Mikoto gasped. Even Naruto tried to stifle his own gasp.

Sasuke's torso was bruised purple, black, and yellow. The bruises crawled all the way up to his collarbones and down to his bellybutton.

"Good God, Sasuke!" said Mikoto. "This is serious! What's gotten _in_ to you lately?"

"Some gang is out to get me," Sasuke said dismissively with an indifferent shrug, as if he didn't care.

"Tell me who and I'll have them expelled so fast, they'll be leaving skid marks," said Tsunade, prodding Sasuke's ribs. Sasuke stayed silent. Tsunade found the wobbling rib and said that it needed further examination, which Sasuke refused.

"You can do it later," he said. "I want to stay with my mother."

"I'm not going anywhere, Sasuke," said Mikoto. "I'll be right here."

Sasuke didn't have assurance that what she had said was true. He acted as if his mother would die right in his hands.

"Uchiha, you need an x-ray _now."_

"I'll fix it myself."

He didn't want to have to lose anymore money to his stupidity. Tsunade seemed to read his mind because she sighed and said, "This'll be free, okay? No charge, since your mother here has helped Hinata recover to her normal self. It's a gift."

Sasuke growled. "I don't want your pity."

"It's not pity," assured Tsunade. "It's a gift. Now come on."

She pulled forcefully on the shirtless Sasuke, moving his struggling figure from his seat. But the second she let go, Sasuke strode to his mother and embraced her.

"I'm not leaving her."

"Come _on_, Uchiha! Stop being so damn stubborn!"

"I came here to see her and that's _it._"

"You're injured. Don't make me call Itachi again."

Sasuke bared his teeth like a dog would. Mikoto's warm hand rested on his cheek that wasn't bruised.

"Come on, honey," she said. "I promise you I'll be right here when she's done."

His eyes secretly spoke to her. _It's not that_, they said. He didn't want to pay for something unnecessary, and he didn't want pity-money, either. But most of all, he didn't want Naruto to see his worthless, weak state. He stayed latched to his mother.

"Sasuke, I'll sedate you. I swear I will."

"Go ahead."

"I'll call Itachi from work and have him personally come over."

No. Anything but that. Sasuke didn't want Itachi coming out of work just for him again – just for his stupidity to mess up their financial system. He hung his head.

"Fine," he whispered, allowing Tsunade to take him gently by the arm and lead him away.

The second they exited the door, Sasuke jerked from her grasp and ran.

"Sasuke!"

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Itachi entered the apartment to hear harsh breathing. When he flicked on the lights, a thoroughly-drenched Sasuke was sprawled on the floor next to the fireplace, his bare chest heaving up and down, his eyes wide, and his mouth gaping to breathe in air.

He was at his side immediately.

"What happened?"

Sasuke only continued to gasp for air. Thinking it was a problem with his lungs, Itachi averted his eyes to Sasuke's torso, grimacing at the colored bruises and the obviously-misplaced rib. Itachi cursed and lifted his brother into a position that wouldn't agitate his rib further.

"Have you been training again?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"How long have you been like that?"

He shrugged.

"I . . . ran," he explained between gasps. "From . . . hospital . . . after sch-school."

Itachi took him quickly from the apartment and into the elevator. He pushed the button to the ground floor roughly.

Sasuke was shivering. Placing a hand on his forehead, Itachi grimaced once more.

"You've got a fever," he said, taking off his summer coat to place it across Sasuke's bare chest. "Just keep trying to take in deep breaths. In and out, slowly."

Sasuke couldn't comply. His lungs wouldn't allow him to take in deep breaths and so he opted for short, quick breaths that made Itachi's grimace permanent.

They used the car to get to the hospital. Shizune called for Tsunade, who came with a knowing look on her face and explained the situation to Itachi.

"I told him to take an x-ray, but he ran the second he got out of there," said the blond woman, taking a weakly-protesting Uchiha into her own arms. "I was going to call you, but one of my patients needed help."

"His rib is misplaced," she continued when she'd laid Sasuke down on the bed in her office. "He aggravated it further when he ran. You're lucky you came now. I was about to stop for the night."

"Is it in need of surgery?" asked Itachi, watching Tsunade prod his brother.

"No. Keeping it under wraps for a few days will do. It'll help set his rib straight."

Tsunade scolded Sasuke as she retrieved bandages. She wrapped them around his torso with more force than needed, telling the Uchiha that he shouldn't be so damn stubborn all the time. Sasuke just replied with groans of pain. Placing the bandages to hold his ribs in place was like tightening braces.

"Take good care of him," Tsunade had warned Itachi. "He's been up to nothing but trouble."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

The weekend was depressing. Itachi didn't have a day off. On Saturday, Sasuke's schedule was short: wake up, eat, visit mother, train. Itachi had come home to find his brother unconscious – _again_ – on the cold floor of the kitchen, his fever more burning than ever.

Sunday, Sasuke awoke to no food. None whatsoever. The toaster waffles were no more, the cupboards were empty, and there wasn't even a note from Itachi with an explanation. Sasuke knew it meant that his brother had forgotten. Itachi _never_ forgot anything.

It was then that Sasuke realized his brother was slowly breaking down.

He went to the hospital that day to explain to his mother, but Tsunade wouldn't allow him inside her room. She said that his mother had come down with yet another dangerous fever and needed severe hospitalization and that speaking of fevers, he would need to rest because of his. And so, Sasuke spent the rest of the hour in the waiting room after taking a pill from Tsunade, not knowing _what_ he was waiting for. Neji was there as well, sitting in front of him. Sasuke pretended to ignore the questioning glances the boy was sending him.

Monday was slightly interesting. Sasuke woke up, didn't eat anything (he hadn't eaten anything from the previous day, either), dozed in every class, and was told by every teacher that they were worried about him. Students took their exams in the first two periods and continued school as if they hadn't taken anything. Sasuke skipped Kakashi's lunch session to hide beneath the bleachers, thinking. And then he'd skirted the Sound 5 to make it to his last period class, then ran from the school before Kakashi could call him. He even skipped track. Speaking of the Sound 5, Sakura had tried several times in the day to speak to Sasuke, all of which the Uchiha had purposely avoided by ducking into the boys' bathroom and coming out minutes later.

It was Tuesday that had become interesting. In the morning, he noticed something peculiar. Itachi only had two pairs of shoes. At the door, there was one of one shoe, and then one of the other, meaning that Itachi had worn two different shoes in the morning. Sasuke pitied his brother. Itachi was losing it.

After another "exciting" day at school, where Sasuke had yet-again avoided _everyone_, including Kakashi, Naruto, and the Sound 5 (who, he'd heard, were now asking others to trap him in corners so they could get to him), he'd gone out to finally buy a few necessary groceries and had come home another empty apartment to train until he passed out.

He woke up to shaking.

"Kid, hey kid!" someone was saying. "Are you alright?"

Sasuke opened his eyes, feeling the strains from his training, and stared into quite an unusual face. At first, he couldn't remember from where he'd seen those beady eyes, the bluish skin, and the gill-like tattoos, but then he realized:

It was Kisame.

"Thank the fishes," Kisame said, breathing a sigh of relief. "What the _hell_ is going on? I just got back from vacation and thought I'd visit Itachi, but I find you! And no one's home! Are you alright?"

"Hey, Kisame," said Sasuke, struggling to sit upright.

"Yeah, nice welcome party." Kisame placed a hand behind Sasuke's back to help position the boy. "Look, I don't matter. What matters is _why_ you were unconscious on the steps! Someone could've abducted you! How long have you been out here?"

Sasuke ignored the questions and wobbled to his feet. From the small window beside the elevator, it was night. He was on his own floor. Taking out his keys, he opened his door, beckoning Kisame in before he closed it.

"What time is it?" he asked, limping into the kitchen.

"Ten. Do you need any help?"

"Itachi won't be home for another two or three hours."

Kisame unexpectedly grabbed Sasuke from behind and slung him over his shoulders. He carried the protesting Uchiha to the couch, where he pinned him down. They had a brief staring contest.

"I want to know what's going on," said Kisame, being utterly serious for the first time since Sasuke knew him (his entire life). "Starting with why you were out cold. I was going to call the police!"

Sasuke scoffed. "I was training on the steps," he said. Kisame already knew of the entire Uchiha story. "I guess I just overdid it."

"Do you know how dangerous that is?"

"Yes, mother."

Kisame frowned and looked around the empty house. "Come to think of it, where _is_ Mikoto?"

"In the hospital."

Kisame's jaw dropped. "Is she alright? What the hell? Why didn't Itachi tell me these things?"

"She's just got malaria. Could you let go of me? I'm losing the feeling in my arms."

Kisame sheepishly let go, sitting on an armchair beside the empty fireplace. He stared at Sasuke for further answers.

"Itachi works night and day to make a few extra dollars, so it's just me."

Kisame told Sasuke to stay seated as he went to the kitchen to get the two of them something to eat, claiming that Sasuke was too bony for his liking. "Why haven't you been eating well?"

"I don't feel hungry," said Sasuke. Now that he thought about it, he _could_ see that his skin was unnaturally taut. Perhaps he'd try and eat a _little_ more.

"There's barely anything in these cupboards!" Kisame called from the kitchen.

"Neither of us have had time to buy anything. Itachi barely even has time to eat."

"You Uchihas are insane, did you know that?" Kisame came back with two bowls of steaming noodles and chopsticks. "Do you have a contact number to call Itachi?"

"Are you going to tell him I passed out outside?"

"Hell, yes!"

"Hell, _no!"_

Sasuke stood, wobbled, and sat back down. "He's had enough stress already, Kisame! I don't want him to be thinking about me!"

"Alright, Sasuke, let's list a few things, shall we?" said Kisame, keeping calm. He ate a mouthful of noodles. "You're not eating. You're not sleeping. You're passing out. Itachi's working night and day. There's no one to take care of you outside of school hours, where I'm pretty sure Kakashi is trying his best to help you."

"It's only until my mother gets out of the hospital," retorted Sasuke. He picked up his chopsticks.

"That's why I'm here," said Kisame, pointing happily to himself with his chopsticks. "I'm going to supervise you!"

Sasuke scoffed for the second time within the hour. "I don't need to be babysat," he said. "I'm full capable –"

"Of taking care of myself," Kisame finished for him. "Have you seen a mirror in the past few days? Sure, you're pretty, Uchiha, but it's not exactly a nice sight to be able to count your bones."

Sigh.

"555-1371."

"Thank you!"

Kisame dug his cell phone from his pocket and dialed the numbers. After a few rings, a weary voice picked up.

_"Yes?"_

"You probably don't have caller ID if you haven't recognized my number," said Kisame. Sasuke listened intently to the conversation.

_"Kisame? I didn't know you were coming back!"_

"I'm at your house, Uchiha!"

_"Oh, so you've seen Sasuke already."_

"More or less."

_"What are you trying to say?"_

"I found him on the steps, knocked out cold."

There was silence over the phone. Sasuke knew Itachi was seething.

_"Is he alright, though?"_

"As far as I can tell. When are you coming home? There's something I want to talk to you about."

Itachi sighed. _"I'll see if I can get out early. I'll be home when I can. Bye, Kisame._

Kisame said his goodbyes and shut off the phone, feeling utterly sorry for his best friend and the direction his life was taking. "I'm ordering pizza," said Kisame, "so that we can celebrate my arrival."

Sasuke wasn't stupid. He knew Kisame was ordering pizza to try and feed him, but he didn't say anything. He had missed pizza and was rather hungry.

"You guys are the weirdest bunch of people I've ever seen," commented Kisame later, when he and Sasuke were seated on the floor by the fireplace playing chess.

"Check," said Sasuke. "How so?"

"You went from first-class to low-class and don't really seem to care."

"Money isn't everything," replied Sasuke. Kisame moved out of check. "I sort of like being poor, except for the overworking part. Check. With money, all my family ever would've cared about was getting more. Check mate."

"Ah." Kisame fell back to hit the pillows they had laid on the floor. "I can never beat one of you Uchiha kids."

_Ding dong!_

"Pizza's here!" exclaimed Kisame, jumping up and running to the door. He wrenched it open. "Lookie here! The pizza delivery guy is wearing an Itachi suit!"

"You dumbass, I _am_ Itachi," said Itachi, entering the house. Kisame immediately cheered and gave him a bear hug. "The pizza man is right behind me. Where's Sasuke?"

"I love you too, Itachi," Kisame said jokingly. "He's playing chess." Kisame was left to deal with the frightened delivery boy.

Itachi strode to where Sasuke busied himself purposely with putting away the chess pieces. "Sasuke," he tried to say, but his brother turned his head away and pretended to pick up a piece off of the floor. Itachi, instead, knelt down. "Look at me."

"If I do, you'll give me this huge lecture about everything I already know."

"If you knew, why did you _do_ it?"

Sasuke could hear the agitation and the weariness that came with his brother's voice. He finally stared into his brother's eyes for the first time in several days. They were bloodshot, with dark rings beneath them. Sasuke wasn't sure how many hours of sleep Itachi had gotten, but it didn't seem to be enough.

"I didn't _want_ to faint," he retorted. "It just _happens."_

"Because you haven't been eating and you're training more than you need to! Sasuke, do you _want_ to die?"

Kisame had closed the door and watched the two with a twisted frown on his face. He went into the kitchen to put the pizza down and to escape the thick air.

"You're never home, so there's nothing to do."

"Then I'll quit my jobs!"

"No!" Sasuke sighed. "This is too complicated."

"You're the one making it complicated!" said Itachi. "I'm sick and tired of coming home to pick you up off of the floor! And you aren't paying attention in class. In the past week, I've gotten about thirty calls from your teachers trying to schedule conferences because they're worried about your work!"

"It's exam time," retorted Sasuke. "It's not that important."

Itachi sighed, rubbing his eyes. He sat back, much like Kisame had done, and stared at the ceiling. "I'm too young to be doing this kind of labor," he said. "I realize our position, Sasuke, but there's nothing we can do about it. It's no one's fault that father committed suicide."

_It's mine._

"It's no one's fault that mother got sick with malaria. One event led to another and it set a chain reaction."

Sasuke edged over to his brother and followed suit, getting into his position. The Uchiha brothers sat sprawled on the floor, facing the ceiling, one arm around the other. They thought about their lives. They thought about where they'd lead to. Sasuke explained the ongoing at school and apologized for training so hard, saying that he'd try and fix things.

Kisame grinned and laid himself down next to Itachi, slinging one hand around the younger man's shoulders. "What're we staring at?" he asked with a grin. Itachi smirked.

"We're watching our lives float away," he replied.

"Righteous! Count me in."

Sasuke laughed and sat up. "And Kisame promised to help me."

"Got that right, kid," replied the blue man. "Now fetch me a pizza. Your master is hungry."

Sasuke hit the man with a pillow and ducked behind a couch.

For another hour, the three men ate pizza and spoke about everything they wanted to before Itachi began dozing off. The first time Sasuke had noticed it was when his brother faltered on the way to sit on the couch. His eyes had closed briefly, but he carried on as if nothing had happened. The second time was when Itachi's head lolled onto Sasuke's shoulder.

"Get some sleep, Itachi," whispered Sasuke. "You'll get more if you sleep now."

"Just take a break," said Kisame, eating his last slice of pizza. "Call in sick."

"I can't," replied Itachi. He stood. "I've got two jobs, starting at five. I'll see you two later. Goodnight."

"Well, I guess that means I've got to be going," said Kisame. "Let's just all hit the hay. I've got to unpack, Itachi's got work, and Sasuke's got school. I'll be here about the same time tomorrow, got it?"

"I'll lock the doors," said Sasuke with a smirk.

"And I'll get my spare keys from my house."

"Damn you."

"Goodnight to you too, Uchiha."

Kisame eventually left the two Uchihas in their own slumber. For the first time in a week, Sasuke lay in bed knowing there was another person in the house.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

There was something peculiar about Wednesday morning. Sasuke wasn't sure whether it was because he woke up at six, checked his clock for an alarm, and found that one hadn't been set, or because he could feel someone in the other room. Getting out of bed warily, he placed his prosthesis into place and stepped from his room.

Yeah, he could definitely hear someone breathing. And it was coming from Itachi's room.

He slowly and quietly opened his brother's door to find a sight he never thought he'd see. Itachi had slept in. His brother, who never needed a single alarm clock because of his ingrained one, was on his side, one hand beneath his pillow and the other hanging limply over the bed, and fast asleep.

Sasuke frowned. It wasn't something he wanted to see. It meant that Itachi wasn't in the right state of mind. It meant that his brother was losing it. Itachi had forgotten food, and Sasuke had forgiven it. Itachi had been so careless as to wear two different shoes, and Sasuke knew that his brother must have been tired. But for Itachi to sleep in, Sasuke realized the unbelievable extent Itachi's insomnia had been.

Being an insomniac, Sasuke didn't really care if he got sleep or not. He was still able to function, even with the heavy amount of fatigue that tried to push him down. But Itachi was _not_ Sasuke. Itachi could _not_ function without sleep.

Sasuke left his brother's room. He hoped his brother wouldn't be angry if he let him sleep.

Saying goodbye to someone at last, he left the house to head for school. The first thing that happened upon setting foot into the building was a hand clamping down hard on his shoulder.

"Where _were_ you?"

It was Kakashi.

Sasuke noticed, to his amusement, that the man seemed downright furious. "You've missed two sessions. I know you're trying to avoid them."

"Good morning to you, too, Kakashi," said Sasuke calmly. He tried to walk forward, but Kakashi pulled him back.

"Teachers have been telling me your lack of progress in the class," the man continued. "And you're looking unhealthier every day. There's something going on."

Sasuke wrenched from Kakashi's grasp and walked forward.

"If this continues," continued Kakashi, "then I'll be forced to reschedule dates for therapy. If you miss today's lunch session, that's exactly what I'll do."

Sasuke appeared at Kakashi's office that lunch.

Naruto was there with his usual grumpy stare, sitting on his orange beanbag chair. Kakashi was relieved to see Sasuke walk in quietly and sit on his usual navy chair.

"Good," said Kakashi. "Now that I've gotten you both here, I've got a new plan in store."

With the boys still on their chairs, he dragged each one to the center of the room, ignoring their protests. Naruto found the ride on the carpet enjoyable. Sasuke jumped off his chair. The two were now facing each other.

"In the time it takes me to photocopy a few papers, you two will do the following," said Kakashi. "You will each state your reasons why you hate each other, and then you will allow the other to _correct_ those reasons, understood?"

Kakashi knew the second he stepped out of the door that there was a minimal chance the two boys would work it out.

To Sasuke's slight surprise, Naruto immediately spoke.

"I think you're a stiff prick."

"I think you're a rich little snob," Sasuke replied just as easily.

"I think you don't know when a person is trying to be friends with you."

"I think you don't know when the world is _pretending_ to be friends with you."

_Weren't we supposed to leave room to clear up the accusations? . . . Hell with it._

"I think you're a jealous bastard who's rude to every human being."

"I think you've got an unbelievably large ego and an even bigger superiority complex."

"Superiority complex?" exclaimed Naruto. "Can we look in the mirror, please?!"

"Yes, I know, I _am_ better looking."

Naruto growled and clenched his fists at the sarcastic remark. "You're only proving my point."

"What point?"

"The one I just made!"

"I'm sorry. I wasn't really listening. Your stupidity was blocking my ears."

Naruto lunged forwards, screaming how he didn't care about detentions. Sasuke quickly rolled to the side to let the blond fall face-first into the chair he'd just been sitting on.

"A little short on fuses, are we, blondie?"

"Would you shut _up?"_

Naruto lunged again, and Sasuke dodged. It went on for a while like that. Sasuke would retort with something that would get Naruto angered, and then he'd dodge a lunge.

"At least I'm not some sort of pitiful mental case!" Naruto finally blurted, relishing (and knowing he'd regret it) in the way Sasuke's calm and collected mask broke into one of absolute fury.

"Take it back," the brunette spat, his lips contorted into a snarl. "Take it _back!"_

Two simple words made all the difference: "Make me."

Sasuke was quicker than Naruto. In a second, he had the blond pinned beneath him, one hand around his neck and the other suspended as a fist in air.

"I'll show you how mental I can be!" he growled.

_Shit,_ thought Naruto. _I think I've gone too far! I think he really wants to kill me!_

"Sasuke!"

Kakashi tackled the brunette off of Naruto, going to the blonde's aid immediately. "What did you think you were doing?"

"Sorting out our differences," Sasuke snarled.

"That's going to get you detention, Sasuke," replied Kakashi. He helped Naruto up. "An entire week's worth."

"Like it makes a difference!" exclaimed the Uchiha. "Do you honestly think I _care_ anymore?"

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch and the beginning of the five-minute break to get to classes.

"I'll be making a visit this afternoon," said Kakashi. "I think this has gone too far."

Sasuke turned on his heels and headed to P.E.

A figure tapped his shoulder before he could make it inside of the locker room. Sasuke turned around to see Sakura, her face radiating.

"Sasuke!" she said, her smile not faltering at the angry look on the Uchiha's face. "I didn't get to properly thank you! My friends and I wanted to invite you to a hangout this weekend."

_She used proper grammar,_ thought Sasuke, watching Sakura with a raised eyebrow. He opened his mouth to retort, but someone suddenly shoved him aside.

"You shouldn't mix with him, Sakura," hissed Naruto. There were bright red fingerprints around his neck.

"Naruto, _honestly_, you –"

"Sakura!" Naruto interrupted, giving her a pleading look. "Please, not now. Just _don't,_ okay?"

He walked into the locker room without another word. Sakura looked confused for a moment, hesitating on whether or not call him back out, but then turned to Sasuke.

"I'll see you around, okay?" she said, leaving at once.

Sasuke didn't think he'd be seeing her around much. He entered the door to his right.

Shikamaru, Neji, and Lee were already in the room. Shikamaru took up an entire bench to stare at the ceiling with his hands behind his head, already dressed. Neji and Lee were still undressing, speaking to each other as they did so. When Sasuke entered, they could practically feel the heat radiating from his angry aura.

"Someone's pissed," the Nara mumbled.

"Just as Naruto is," said Lee.

Sasuke spotted Naruto and Kiba. The two of them were in a corner, discussing something beneath their breaths. Sasuke ignored them and went behind into the shower stalls to undress quickly. P.E. would be a good way to get his anger out.

When he emerged and moved to where the same boys stood by the lockers, he heard Kiba chuckle behind his hands. Wary glances were sent in his direction. Trying his best not to look confused, Sasuke opened a locker and placed his bag in.

A war cry echoed in the room.

"HUZZAH!"

All Sasuke had time to do was turn around to face an advancing blond.

And suddenly, he saw his pants around his ankles.

Kiba was supposed to laugh his own pants off at the plan he and Naruto had come up with to pants Sasuke in front of all the boys. The other boys were supposed to laugh as well. Naruto, standing up from his bold act, was supposed to feel good about himself.

So why did he feel sick?

The silence in the locker room was unbelievably thick. Every boy stared at Sasuke with wide eyes, held breaths, and mouths open. Sasuke stared at himself as well. There he stood, in nothing but boxers, for everyone in the room to see.

For everyone to see his prosthesis.

Naruto shook his head, eyes wide. "Sasuke, I –"

Those simple words seemed to take Sasuke from his shock. The Uchiha, stunned, aghast, beyond words, grabbed his bag from his locker, swiftly pulled his pants to his waist, pulled back a fist, and punched Naruto in the chest so hard the blond reeled back, hit the benches, and fell into sub-consciousness.

"I hate you!"

The words continued to echo even when Sasuke left the room.

No one bothered to stop him, and he didn't stop for anyone. When a hand grabbed onto his wrist, he simply wrenched from the grasp in his own hysterics. Already having his leg set into its second mode for P.E., he ran as fast as he could, away from the school, thinking that if he ran, he'd be running from the world as well.

He wanted to run away from everything. He wanted to curl into a ball on his couch, with a tub of ice cream in his hand, and his brother on the other side, watching television as their mother was in the kitchen telling them that they'd spoil their appetite. He wanted to swim with Itachi in the Uchiha's lake again without any worry of wearing shorts or getting his leg short-circuited.

He wanted Itachi again.

When he banged on his apartment door, a very angry, disheveled Itachi stood in the doorframe, ready to shout. But when he saw his own little brother standing there, looking on the verge of tears, he stopped mid-word.

"Itachi," Sasuke said, looking up at his brother with eyes that portrayed every emotion from A to Z. "Help me."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Random Bottom Note:** This is the part where I laugh my arms off.

MUAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! A cliffhanger!

I hadn't intended on making the ending a cliffhanger, but I _had_ to! We're getting somewhere, people! The plot is developing! I can't let you guys keep reading for free! =P

That, and the fact that I have just had to been tortured by sitting through a two-hour History Exam of Hell (my history teacher actually titled it "Holy History Exam of 2009" - I kid you not. He's that kind of sadistic guy). So I felt the need to torture _someone!_

Sorry. =D


	7. Born to be Wild

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I'd be worried about my anti-fans.

**Author's Note:** There isn't much to say today, except that I want to thank _everyone_ for both the exceedingly amazing amount of hits and reviews. This is, by far, my best (and favorite) story. I'm super tired and feeling a little sick. Excuse any mistakes. I've reread this chapter over and over in the past four months, but my eyes tend to skip over random words.

**Important Part: **There's a lot of scene-skipping at the beginning of this chapter and I apologzie. It's just that the first three scenes were originally at the end of the _previous_ chapter, but in my greed to end the last chapter with a cliff hanger, I had to take them out and put them here.

So this chapter is **1,252 words longer** than it should be.

Sorry!

Chapters will _not_ be this annoyingly long ever again. I was just never in the mood to give the whole beginning a remake.

There's a lot of angst in this chapter, but a lot more of Kisame to brighten the mood! =D

**Chapter 7  
**…**:::Born to be Wild:::…  
****ACDC**

**[Warning: Super-long chapter. Sorry. Read above author's note for explanation.]**

Itachi led Sasuke into the apartment and closed the door behind him. "What's going on?" he willed Sasuke to answer. "What's wrong?"

"I hate him!" was all Sasuke replied. "I hate him! I want to _kill_ him!"

Itachi unlatched his brother from him and held him by the shoulders. Sasuke's eyes were reddening. "Tell me what happened."

Sasuke closed his eyes, hanging his head, his shoulders shaking in attempt to hold back raw fury. "They saw," he managed. "They saw my leg when Naruto pulled my pants down in the locker room. We'd argued during lunch and I guess he wanted to get me back for punching him. But Itachi, they _saw!"_

"Who saw?"

"The boys in the locker room. It doesn't matter how many there were!" Sasuke rested his head on his brother's chest. "The whole school is going to know by tomorrow. There's no way I'm going back."

"You have to go back," said Itachi. He stood from the couch, taking Sasuke with him, and led his younger brother to his room. "It's not the end of the world."

"I'm going to kill him if I ever see Naruto again," spat Sasuke wearily. "I will rip every stupid blond hair from his head and gouge out his stupid blue eyes until he bleeds."

Itachi sighed and pushed his brother into bed. "You need your rest, Sasuke. Wait right here."

The next time Itachi appeared, Sasuke knew his brother held a needle behind his back. He struggled, but Itachi personally got onto the bed and straddled him so he would not move. Keeping one hand around Sasuke's wrists that he had pinned over his head, he pulled the cap off of the needle with his teeth.

"Itachi, please," pleaded Sasuke.

"Forgive me, Sasuke."

He emptied the syringe into Sasuke's arm vein and watched his brother's eyes close.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

When Naruto came to, he was in the nurse's office on a bed with his shirt off. Kabuto was wiping blood from behind Naruto's ears, and Kakashi stood over his head as Neji, Lee, Kiba, and Shikamaru sat in plastic chairs a little away from the beds.

"What's going on?" slurred Naruto. His vision was blurry and his head ached terribly.

"Do you remember what happened in the locker room?" Kakashi asked him. Naruto thought the man looked angry. He could never tell, really, with that single eye of his. But he refocused his thoughts onto Sasuke and remembered the image that would forever be embedded into his mind:

Sasuke, standing in nothing but boxer shorts, with a prosthetic leg. At first, Naruto didn't know what to think. His mind had stopped working. He had stared into Sasuke's face and had seen so many flashes of emotion that he was still trying to comprehend them. Then his mind trailed back to the mechanical leg.

What the _hell_ had happened to the boy?

"I didn't – I don't –"

He couldn't complete a sentence. There _were_ no words to describe anything anymore. It was too much to try and comprehend all at once. It was too much to think that Sasuke – _Sasuke! _– was missing a limb.

"Do you know what you've possibly done to his mental health?" asked Kakashi. He wasn't angry anymore. He seemed tired. He was always tired nowadays. "Do you know how long Sasuke's trained himself to make it appear as if he's a normal person? He went full-out to make sure no one knew of his handicap."

"I didn't know he was . . ."

He was still trying to grasp the concept.

"What made you think it was okay to pants him, Naruto?"

"That would be my fault, Mr. Hatake," Kiba said weakly, feeling guilty. "Naruto was angry and said he wanted to get back at Sasuke, so I suggested it to him."

"Sasuke punched you quite powerfully," chirped Kabuto. "You'll be dizzy for a while due to a hard hit on the head, and you've got a massive bruise on your chest, but nothing serious."

Kakashi turned to the boys sitting in the chairs. "You have to promise not to tell _anyone_ about what you've seen," he said seriously. "And you can't treat Sasuke any differently, or he'll turn unstable. It's happened before."

"I swear it," Neji was the first to say, his facial expressions portraying grave seriousness. Lee followed suit, then Shikamaru and Kiba said so as well. Kakashi dismissed them. School would be over in fifteen minutes.

Kakashi asked to be alone with Naruto. Kabuto said he would be glad to leave and needed to make a call.

"Do you realize now," Kakashi said, sitting down in front of Naruto, "why Sasuke is the way he is?"

"Kakashi, he's missing a _leg!_ A leg! That's like – can you imagine?! – . . . a _leg! _What _happened_ to him?"

"I have no right to distribute that kind of knowledge, Naruto," Kakashi replied levelly. "I just want you to know that Sasuke isn't about to go trusting anyone too soon. It took him a while to trust me when he came to me for therapy, both physical and mental. And right now, I'm not so sure about what this incident is going to do to him."

Naruto felt a sudden weight collapse onto his shoulders. _Hello, Naruto,_ said the weight. _My name is Guilt, and I shall forever be your best friend!_

Naruto groaned. What had he done?!

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kakashi called Itachi that day to ask how Sasuke was doing. Itachi said he'd sedated him in fear that Sasuke would have a panic attack or another collapse. The Uchiha had already reported the happenings to Tsunade, telling her the dosage he'd given his brother and his current health situation.

_"We're ending this_," Kakashi said over the phone. _"You, Sasuke, Naruto, Lady Tsunade, and me. We've all got to sort this situation out, or it'll mean the death of Sasuke."_

"I know," Itachi replied. He stared at his sedated brother with a frown on his face. "I know."

Sasuke didn't go to school the next day. He stayed in his bed without a word, refusing to eat and refusing to move. The only thing he did was plunge his face into his pillow. Itachi didn't go to work that day either. He called to state that it was a family emergency.

Itachi made Sasuke tea and a bowl of rice at three o'clock before leaving briefly to visit his mother at the hospital. Shizune welcomed him and directed him to his mother's room, where Mikoto slept peacefully, her fever receding.

Hinata was still present in the room. After having undergone another surgery recently, she slept as well. Neji was at her bedside. He watched Itachi stand over Mikoto.

"Mr. Uchiha," he said, speaking with the utmost formality. "You are Sasuke's brother, correct?"

Itachi looked up and studied the boy affront of him. "If you are allowed to visit Ms. Hyuuga Hinata, then you must be a Hyuuga yourself, and if you know Sasuke, you must be Hyuuga Neji."

Kakashi had told Itachi of the people that knew of Sasuke's prosthesis.

"Him I am," replied Neji. "I wanted to ask if Sasuke was doing okay."

"He is well," was Itachi's automatic reply.

"He was not present in school today."

Itachi's eyes swept over Neji's. "He was incapacitated."

Neji knew not to say more. He simply stared as Itachi touched his mother's hand. When Itachi came to leave, the Hyuuga spoke: "Give him my best."

". . . I shall do that."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Naruto was worried.

Sasuke hadn't show up at school that day. Throughout his entire exam, and the following classes, Naruto pondered about it. It was all his fault! What if Sasuke was now being entered into a sane asylum? What if he'd ruined the Uchiha's mental life?!

Kakashi hadn't spoken to Naruto for the entire day, either, not that the blond had seen him. It seemed the man was too preoccupied with other matters.

Feeling ultimately guilty, Naruto decided to do something about it. At home, with his grandmother at work, he opened her telephone book and scanned the pages for Sasuke's name in the U section. There was only one Uchiha: _Mikoto._ Beneath the telephone number was an address that Naruto followed on his bicycle, telling his driver to take a well-deserved break for some tea.

_Apartment seventy-one._

Meaning the seventh floor.

Naruto hoped they had an elevator.

They did. As he watched the numbers light up – _one, ding . . . two, ding . . . _– he began to have his doubts: _What if he's not home?_

He _had_ to be.

_What if he doesn't want to speak to me?_

Of course he doesn't! But Naruto would kick the door down anyway.

He suddenly lost the courage when he reached the supposed door of the Uchihas. It seemed to tower over him in all its finely-polished glory. Gulping and taking a deep breath, Naruto rang the doorbell.

_Ding dong!_

_"Kisame's early,"_ he heard a low, contemplative voice from behind the door. It opened suddenly and in the frame stood Itachi. The Uchiha stared around before spotting a head of blond. His eyes darkened.

"Haven't you done enough damage on your own already?" he asked calmly.

"Uh . . . um . . . uh . . ."

"What is it that you want?"

"I want to see Sasuke."

Itachi frowned. "Sasuke doesn't want to see you."

"I want to make sure he's okay," continued Naruto, feeling the need to grasp his bravery before it melted away.

"Go away."

Itachi moved to close the door, but Naruto stuck his foot out, mentally thanking himself for wearing boots that day.

"Let me see him. _Please."_

Itachi stared.

Naruto stared right back.

Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"He'll hurt you, and I won't stop him."

Naruto stood tall. "I'll take every hit."

Itachi welcomed him inside, telling the blond to take his shoes off. Naruto stared around the smallish apartment, taking note of its OCD-like cleanliness. Itachi moved to one of the furthest doors with Naruto on his trail.

"Sasuke?" Itachi called, knocking on the door. "There's someone here to see you."

"Who?" Sasuke immediately called back, not removing his face from his pillow.

Itachi did not answer, but he pushed Naruto in and closed the door, whispering lightly, "I'll get 911 on speed dial."

Naruto gulped.

He examined Sasuke's room silently, noticing how almost nothing lined the walls. There was but a simple bed, closet, and desk, with nothing decorating either of them but a pile of books and a picture frame on the desk. Sasuke lay beneath navy covers on his bed, his head buried in his pillow. Naruto moved closer and dared to speak.

"Hi, Sasuke."

The Uchiha whirled around so quickly, Naruto swore he saw his life flash before his eyes. Sasuke's face was contorted into a snarl.

_"You!"_ he snarled, swinging his legs off of his bed. _"You!"_

"Easy now, Sasuke." Naruto backed against the wall, his hands up in defense.

"How _dare_ you come here?! How _dare_ you show your face to me again?"

Naruto was beginning to think it was a bad idea.

Sasuke backed the poor blond into a wall. With a single fist, he lifted him so high, Naruto stared down at the Uchiha for the first time.

"You ruined my life!" exclaimed Sasuke. "You ruined _everything!_ I'll knock you out so badly, you won't remember_! _I'll put _you_ in a coma for _six fucking months!"_

"You were in a coma? For six months?" blurted Naruto. He immediately regretted saying it when Sasuke's eyes raged with a sudden extra level of anger and then blanked out completely. Sasuke was looking at him, but he wasn't _seeing_ wide sapphire eyes, or drooping blond hair.

He was seeing his father.

_"You wouldn't hit me, would you, _son?"his father told him, grinning malevolently. _"Not your loving father."_

Sasuke's other hand unconsciously went to Naruto's neck.

"You don't love me," he hissed.

"What?" asked Naruto, confused and frightened at the same time. Sasuke's grip was becoming uncomfortably tight around his neck and being locked in the room, no one would find his dead body.

_"But I do love you, _son._ After all, I almost killed you, didn't I?"_

"Shut up." It was a snarl at first, but Sasuke's fingers dug into Naruto's windpipe. "Shut _up!"_

"Sasuke!" Naruto choked out, his fingers clawing at Sasuke's own. "Sasuke, please! Stop! _Stop!"_ Dark spots were beginning to appear in his vision. Everything was blurring and he could hear his own breaths with the pounding of blood in his ears. "Sasuke, I can't breathe!"

"Die," the Uchiha whispered ominously. "Die. _Die!_ You said you wanted to die, so I'll do you a favor for once!"

Naruto saw the insane expression, the twisted grin and manic eyes on Sasuke's handsome face as his hands went limp and his mind fogged. Before he had the time to fall into permanent unconsciousness, the door opened and a calm figure walked in, followed by a rush of two others.

"Let go of him, Sasuke," said Itachi.

"He tried to kill me!" Sasuke yelled wildly, squeezing harder around Naruto's neck. "So I'll kill him before he can try again!"

"Sedating you again would be unwise, Sasuke. Let go of Naruto."

"Let _go_ of him!" a woman screeched. It was Tsunade. She rushed forward and in an attempt to free her grandchild, she pushed Sasuke wildly aside with inhuman strength. Itachi caught him before he could reach the ground, but even with his strong arms, he was forced back a few steps.

"That's probably the second time he's tried to strangle Naruto to death," Kakashi said lightly in spite of the situation.

Tsunade laid Naruto on the floor, desperately calling out to him and asking him how many fingers she was holding up, all the while cursing and yelling obscenities at a suddenly lidded-eyed Sasuke.

"Two, _two, _Granny!" Naruto replied hoarsely, sitting up with the help of his grandmother. He touched his neck gingerly and winced at the pain shooting through his throat. "Why are you here?"

"Itachi called me," she said. "But don't worry – I left everything to Shizune. She should be okay."

Naruto stared at Sasuke, who had closed his eyes and leaned tiredly against Itachi, looking almost as if he wanted to cry and scream at the same time.

"What's going on?" the Uchiha finally asked after a while, blinking as if he had been absent for the past few minutes. "When did everyone get here?"

The adults of the room exchanged worried glances.

"Itachi, I'm really worried about his mental health," said Tsunade. "He almost _killed_ Naruto! I don't think we should've stopped his therapy."

"Killed Naruto?" Sasuke asked incredulously, sparing a glance at the blond. The situation sunk in. He placed a hand over his eyes. "Damn it," he whispered. "It's happening again."

Itachi chose not to reply, but Kakashi didn't think the same way.

"You've only had three months of rehabilitation, Sasuke," he said. "For physical _and_ mental therapy, even with your prodigious skills, that's not enough. You weren't ready. Normal people need at least _two years."_

"I'm _not _a normal person! Kakashi, look at me! What about me is 'normal'? I'm obviously dangerous! I'm better off being locked – . . . locked . . ."

He slumped, unconscious. Itachi pulled a needle from behind Sasuke's back and recapped it.

"The sedative shouldn't be too much on his bloodstream," the older Uchiha said calmly. "It'll be much easier to handle him this way."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

When Sasuke next awoke, he was in the hospital . . . again.

It wasn't the quietness of the room that got to him, no. It wasn't even the heads of blond, silver, and black that he could make out from his blurry vision, either. It was the white. The white that he'd seen for months on end. The white that he thought he would have been placed in from the start, and the white that he desperately wanted to escape.

"Am I in an asylum?" he asked the ceiling.

"No," the ceiling replied. "You're in the hospital."

Apparently, the ceiling could impersonate Tsunade's voice unbelievably well, thought Sasuke. It, perhaps, had a future as an impersonator.

It took a head of blond and Tsunade's lips to move to convince Sasuke that it wasn't the ceiling, but Tsunade herself. She helped him into an upright position. A wire brushed against Sasuke's temple; an IV drip.

"Have I been out for long?" he asked, staring at Tsunade's familiar office.

"An hour, probably. Your nutrition levels have lowered drastically, Uchiha, which means you haven't been eating. We've had to place you on the IV for now."

Sasuke rubbed his eyes wearily with his other hand and stared around once more. Itachi and Kakashi were situated at the end of his bed, which Sasuke realized was the bed he was well-acquainted with in Tsunade's office. Naruto sat on Tsunade's desk chair, looking guiltily at the floor.

"This is the last day we're going to let this nonsense go on," said Tsunade. "I'm bringing order right now. We're going to get you help, Sasuke."

"You'll need to carry on with your therapy lessons after school," continued Kakashi. "In the state you're in, you'll need to keep coming back to my house for at least another six months. This isn't for physical anymore, either. It's all mental."

"So I'm a mental case now?" asked Sasuke, boring his eyes into Kakashi's own. He straightened himself against the wall he was leaning on. "I'm mentally unstable?"

"In a way."

The answer made Sasuke swing his fist to angrily connect with the wall. Tsunade started, but only watched Sasuke's breathing quicken.

"I'm _tired_ of being treated like a basket case," he whispered harshly. "I am _completely _mentally sound. Some things just _trigger_ mental reactions like that."

His head jerked to face Tsunade, then to Kakashi, a snarl distorting his lips.

"Do _not_ treat me like I need an asylum."

Itachi took interest in the conversation. "It seems," he said quietly, "that you have been trying to heal a nonexistent illness. Perhaps you should opt to specify his needs and treat them individually instead of bringing him to therapy without any results."

Tsunade stared at Itachi thoughtfully. "Your brother's right, actually," she said, impressed. "That's smart thinking, Uchiha."

Itachi said nothing.

"Alright," continued Kakashi. "Sasuke, list what's wrong."

Sasuke held up a slender finger. "Insomnia."

Tsunade stared at him long and hard, thinking. "This is horribly tricky," she finally said. "To treat it would mean putting you on more medication, but we can't. You've got too much medication entering your body already. Any more and there could be some serious consequences."

Insomnia had probably helped in his lack of nutrition and proper functioning, she thought, but to treat it properly, she'd need _additional_ medication, and they couldn't risk taking him off of any he was currently on, or putting him on any more. So what . . .?

"Chamomile."

It had been whispered and for a second, Sasuke thought it was Itachi that had said it. But he had forgotten there was another presence in the room: Naruto.

"Sorry?" asked Tsunade.

"Chamomile," the blond replied strongly this time around. He raised his head to stare at Tsunade. "Granny, remember when dad . . ." He swallowed thickly. "When dad worked, he started getting insomnia. He told me that he drank chamomile to help it, and it did."

His eyes averted to Sasuke. Sasuke scowled, doing everything in his power to prevent him from throttling the blond then and there.

"If you drink it every night, it'll help."

"Come to think of it, I remember Minato telling me something like that," said Tsunade. "That's an excellent idea, Naruto. And chamomile is beneficial as well." She turned to ruffle his hair affectionately. "Thanks, brat."

"Thank Naruto, Sasuke," spoke Itachi, smirking. He enjoyed watching Sasuke's clenched jaw twitch.

Sasuke, instead, growled and turned away, stubbornly crossing his arms over his chest.

"Did you know Pride is a sin, Uchiha?" Naruto spat at Sasuke's reactions.

"So is Wrath," the Uchiha spat right back.

"Boys."

Insert glares here.

"Continuing with everything, we need to keep Sasuke away from anything that might trigger trauma. Naruto, you need to be aware of this as well," said Kakashi. "Things like bridges, certain words or phrases, streams of water –"

"What is with all these things?" interrupted Naruto. "Bridges, water . . . what do these have to do with anything?"

"Kakashi, you're doing this on purpose," hissed Sasuke. "I don't want him to know anything that's unnecessary."

"Does this relate to –?"

"No, it _doesn't!"_ Sasuke interrupted the blond. "Stop dwelling over those matters!"

Tsunade sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. This was going to be a lot harder than she thought.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

When they'd gotten out of the hospital, Itachi had driven them to the local market to buy a large box of chamomile before they went home. Sasuke was deeply infuriated. Kakashi had developed a plan to take action on Monday, and he did _not_ like it.

"Aren't fifteen days over?" Sasuke suddenly asked his brother later as he sat on the couch, calling over to Itachi who was in the kitchen over the stove. "Shouldn't Mom be coming back?"

Itachi walked into the room with two steaming cups of chamomile tea. His had a mound of sugar settled on the bottom, whereas Sasuke's had half a spoon. He handed it to his little brother and sat across from him.

"Tsunade has informed me that although mother's condition has improved greatly, she needs hospitalization for the maximum of a week to carry on with medication and nutrition," Itachi said calmly, sipping his cup.

"But can you _handle_ another week?"

Itachi visibly grimaced. "I'll try and cut back."

Sasuke smirked. "You sound like you're doing drugs."

"Work is just as bad."

They lapsed into comfortable silence, sipping their tea quietly and relishing in the other's presence. Sasuke, for the first time in four months, felt genuinely drowsy. By eleven, he placed his cup in the sink and slunk into bed.

At least he'd gotten a good night's rest.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke dreaded Monday. He woke up after a good night's rest _knowing_ that he would hate it, but that there was no way he could avoid it. Itachi was gone, but there were toaster waffles waiting for him on the table. He dressed comfortably (with the baggiest pants he could find) and left the house.

There were two reasons he dreaded today: one: because of Kakashi's "ingenious" plan yet to take action, and two: because he hadn't seen everyone's reaction to his prosthetic leg. Walking into school, he braced himself for stares, laughter, and snide remarks.

But got none.

No one was staring at him with a different expression than the way they'd always stared at him. The girls were still ogling his body like toddlers wanting candy. The boys were still trying to decipher what went on in his mind. No one said anything about a prosthetic leg.

When Sasuke entered Kakashi's office like he'd been told to do, Naruto was already there, looking heavily disgruntled.

"Why is the entire school –?"

"Behaving normally?" supplied Kakashi from nowhere. He appeared right behind Sasuke and closed the door. "Well, probably because no one knows."

"Why –?"

"We're not stupid, Uchiha," remarked Naruto. "We know when to keep a secret and when not to."

Before another argument could start up, Kakashi laughed good-naturedly (to hide the awkwardness) and interrupted. "Now that we've got _that _out of the way, let's get down to business! Boys."

Naruto reluctantly held his hand out to the manic guidance counselor. Sasuke hesitated, but did so as well.

Kakashi slapped a pair of handcuffs around their wrists.

"Good!" he chirped. "Now I know you have different electives, so just come straight here, I'll unlock them, and then come back when you're done, got it? Other than that, you're stuck for good!"

"What if one of us needs to go to the bathroom?" asked Naruto. He examined the handcuffs. The chain between them was only a foot long.

"Well, that's _your_ problem!"

Sasuke glowered deeply at Kakashi, who simply smiled so widely, his visible eye crinkled (today, his silver hair was flattened from the front to cover his other eye instead of the usual bandage). Naruto muttered obscenities beneath his breath.

"At the end of this month, I want an essay from each of you about what you learned. It should be about . . . four – no – five pages."

"Five pages to write about _him?!"_ Naruto shouted incredulously.

"I agree with him for once," retorted Sasuke. "I'm not quite sure there are enough synonyms for loud, obnoxious jerk to fit five pages."

"Why you –"

"_And_," continued Kakashi, "here's the layout! Naruto, today, you'll go to Sasuke's house until I come to pick you up, understood? And tomorrow, Sasuke will be going to your house. This pattern will repeat for a month."

"I'm not bringing _him_ into my house!" both boys exclaimed in unison.

"He'll destroy the peace!" Sasuke said angrily.

"I have _friends_ that I hang out with, Kakashi!" Naruto retorted with the same amount of infuriation.

"Deal with it."

And with that, Kakashi shoved them from his classroom and locked the door behind them. Sasuke's cuffed hand twitched. This was going to be a lot harder than he'd expected.

The bell rang.

"We've got Arabic."

Sasuke hated the class of Arabic. The study was excellent, but the people weren't. Naruto's entire main posse seemed to take up the entirety of the class, and Sasuke _knew_ them all from previous classes. Nevertheless, the second they entered the classroom, all eyes were on them.

"Ah," said Iruka with a mocking smile. "I see Kakashi has placed his plan into action."

"You still owe me ramen, Iruka."

"And you still owe me that assignment, Naruto. Good morning, Sasuke."

Sasuke grumbled. Naruto grumbled. Both boys were in horrible moods.

Kiba came up to Naruto and Sasuke and grabbed the chain that held them together. "What have you _done?!_" he cried dramatically to no one in particular.

"This is Kakashi's idea of helping us to get to know each other," Naruto supplied. He turned to Sasuke. "How are we supposed to sit down?"

"Deal with it."

"Ass."

Naruto thanked whoever that he was left-handed, seeing as his right hand was currently attached to Sasuke's left hand.

The two boys silently sat next to each other, their cuffed hands dangling between their desks. Kiba shook his head pityingly, saying that they would only hate each other even more. Sasuke thought that out of all the remarks he'd gotten that class, Sai's was the one that stood out the most.

The strange, belly-shirt-bearing boy sauntered into class, took one look at Sasuke and Naruto cuffed together, and raised a slender eyebrow.

"Did you lose the key when you were getting it on in bed last night?"

P.E. wasn't any better. Going into the locker room was the one thing Sasuke hated. The boys that had seen the accident were behaving . . . normally. Neji simply turned his back to Sasuke as he took off his own shirt. Lee saluted Sasuke in greeting, apologized for anything he might have done, and carried on dressing in his spandex. Shikamaru . . . slept. Even Kiba seemed to hold onto whatever manners he possessed, not staring at Sasuke except for one or two fleeting glances out of curiosity.

Although knowing everyone knew he wore a prosthesis, Sasuke didn't want them ogling at it. Without a word, he pulled Naruto behind a group of lockers where the other boys were and growled at him to quickly get undressed. They'd have to keep their shirts for now.

Naruto quietly complied. Feeling their hands go in different directions caused the entire thing to feel quite awkward, but they got it down. When Sasuke turned to reach for his other pants, Naruto stole a quick glance at Sasuke's leg and felt terribly guilty once more. He also felt depressed. A sudden need to delve into Sasuke's life bubbled in his chest, but Sasuke soon turned around. Naruto turned away quickly. He didn't want to be caught staring.

Sasuke quickly placed on his pants, acting as if he _didn't_ notice Naruto staring. He knew he'd be getting it quite a lot for the next month. Without another word, he pulled the blond away from the locker room and onto the field.

If Sasuke had to describe that day's P.E. class in one word, he would say: disturbing.

Gai, wearing his green spandex and orange leg warmers, was demonstrating the perfect way to stretch. And so, he made quite a lot of movements that one wearing spandex should _not_ make.

To put it simply, Sasuke would have nightmares for years.

Sakura and Ino came up to the two boys when the lunch bell had rung. "Naruto!" exclaimed Sakura, waving enthusiastically. She stopped when she saw Sasuke and a confused look dawned onto her face.

"I didn't know you two were handcuffed. I _thought_ it was weird that you were sitting next to each other," said Ino.

"Kakashi," both boys muttered simultaneously. When they'd realized what they'd done, they both tried to cross their arms, but ended up tugging on each other fiercely and allowing their hands to fall limply at their sides.

Sakura giggled. "Then I guess that means we'll be inviting Sasuke to our hangout this Wednesday as well."

"What?!" exclaimed Naruto. "No way! _No!_ He'll ruin everything!"

"You'll barely even know he's there," retorted Ino.

"Every time I head in to the bathroom, I'll know!"

Sasuke smirked. Sakura smiled. Ino laughed. Naruto grumbled.

"Well then, we'll see you at the Chalk O' Lit Café on Wednesday!"

Sasuke didn't want to see them at the café. He knew he wouldn't be able to bring too much money with him. Besides, what was so great about drinking an over-priced smoothie with complete strangers?

Naruto, however, thought differently.

"You're coming with me whether you like it or not," the blond grumbled.

He then proceeded to tug Sasuke to Kakashi's room.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

When the end of school came around, Sasuke was forced to visit Naruto's locker (finding that it was utterly messy: a disarray of papers sticking out of every book that littered the lockers and some peculiar odor coming from the dark, murky depths) and Naruto was forced to visit Sasuke's (nothing but a few textbooks and notebooks neatly lined together).

"It's not like I _want_ to come to your house, Uchiha," growled Naruto as they neared the doors. Sasuke growled in reply. "How are we getting there?"

Sasuke said nothing. He continued to walk from the school and down the sidewalk where students that were running to their freedom stopped to stare at the two handcuffed boys.

"We're _walking?!"_ the blond exclaimed when he realized that Sasuke hadn't gone for any car or bicycle of the sort.

"My apologies, your Highness," Sasuke said dryly. "My driver is out to lunch."

"Funny, Uchiha. Your house had better not be far away."

"This is payment for the track meet Kakashi forced us to miss today."

"And _I_ have to suffer?"

Silence.

"Great, it's back to the one-sided conversations."

Silence.

"Hello, Sasuke. My name is Naruto. Yes, the weather _is_ nice. I'm fine, thanks for asking. What about you?"

"You're annoying."

Naruto grimaced. He saw Sasuke's familiar row of apartments come into view and breathed a sigh of relief. That is, until he realized what Sasuke had in mind.

"There is _no_ way I'm walking up seven flights of steps when there's a working elevator," said Naruto, glaring deeply at Sasuke. Sasuke put his hand on the railing and continued to walk. Naruto grabbed onto the railing as well, but only to prevent Sasuke from moving him. "What are you _doing?"_

"It's training," was the monotonous reply.

"Training my ass! It's seven flights of steps! Don't tell me you do this everyday!"

Sasuke merely continued to pull.

Naruto, however, didn't want to move. He wrapped his hands tightly around the metal rod.

"Let go, Uzumaki," growled Sasuke.

"No."

"Let _go_, Uzumaki!"

Naruto let go.

The look in Sasuke's eyes – the manic, dangerous look – made Naruto obey. He remembered his grandmother's orders, and Kakashi's talk about triggers of trauma, and Naruto really didn't want that to happen while the two were handcuffed together.

"So, uh . . . you've got a brother, right? Itachi, I think he said his name was." Naruto tried to make light conversation when they'd reached the third floor. "Is he home?"

Sasuke didn't answer. Naruto got his answer, though, when Sasuke opened his locked apartment door to nothing but silence.

_So he wasn't lying when he said his brother worked for seventeen hours . . ._

Naruto was able to take a better look around the apartment now that he wasn't in a nervous rush. It was neatly and simply arranged, nothing like his house, which was decorated to the brim with expensive items. The only things in the house that decorated the walls were beautifully-done paintings, all signed by the same person.

The apartment was small, with each room connecting to the other. Naruto walked into the living room and found that the kitchen was attached to it as well, with the only thing separating the two being a bar.

"What do you do when you're alone?" asked Naruto casually, looking at the fireplace as Sasuke fixed the pieces on a chess board. There were framed pictures of Sasuke as a young boy, always smiling in the hands of either his mother or brother.

No father.

"Train," Sasuke grumbled back.

"Do you do anything besides train?"

"No."

"You train for sixteen hours?"

Silence.

". . . So. Do you have anything around here to eat?"

"Wait."

"For what?"

"Wait."

Naruto waited.

And waited.

And waited.

Sasuke sat down on one of the broken-in couches, forcing Naruto to follow. After several minutes of waiting, Naruto sighed and turned to Sasuke.

"What are we waiting for?" he asked.

"Wait."

"We've _been_ waiting."

Sasuke held up three slender fingers. He subtracted one. Then another. When he took down his third finger, the door suddenly rattled. A key was inserted, the doorknob squeaked, and in came a figure holding a large box.

"Saaaaaaaasuke! I'm hoooooooooooome!"

Kisame stepped in dramatically, spun around, and kicked the door closed. Naruto had a sudden fear of the man from the way he grinned and two rows of unbelievably-pointed teeth showed.

"I didn't know you had guests," said Kisame, plopping down on the couch affront of Sasuke and Naruto and placing the box, which was a large box of pizza, onto the coffee table. "Well, the more the merrier. You don't look too happy, though."

"You wouldn't be, either," growled Sasuke.

Kisame laughed and outstretched his hand towards Naruto. "Hoshigake Kisame."

Naruto brought his hand out as well. "Uzumaki Naruto." The hand, however, was the one attached to Sasuke. Kisame's eyebrows rose.

"Um, is there a reason you two are . . . handcuffed together?"

"Torture," said Sasuke.

"Punishment," replied Naruto.

"I'll ask Itachi, then." Kisame's grin returned and he stood up. "Well, howdy, Naruto! Have you come to join the fun?"

"What fun? Uchiha over here is about as much fun as a sack of shit."

"Actually," replied the blue man, opening the box of pizza, "I've played with a sack of shit back when I was on my uncle's farm. It was pretty fun."

Naruto let out a laugh. Kisame told him to help himself to some pizza.

"No, Sasuke's a pretty fun guy if he isn't in his PMS mood," continued Kisame. He bit off a large chunk of a slice of pizza, watching Sasuke silently slide his hand beneath a slice and pick it up. "But I'm here to supervise him while the older sack of shit is out at work."

"Supervise?"

"Yeah, you know: make sure he doesn't pass out during training, gets all his medication, sedation, intake of food –"

"Kisame!" Sasuke snapped sharply. "What the hell?"

"Itachi told me some kid named Naruto knew a lot," said Kisame, "and since Naruto isn't a common name, I'm taking a gander and thinking this guy's him."

"He doesn't need to know any more! Let me keep the rest of the secrets at least!"

Kisame put a hand to his mouth to pretend to ignore Sasuke as he said to Naruto, "This is what would be categorized as his PMS mood."

Sasuke threw what was left of his single slice of pizza back into his box and stood up roughly, causing Naruto's hand to jerk and cause his other hand to smear tomato sauce over his upper lip.

"Hey!" the blond whined when Sasuke wanted to move. "_I'm_ still eating!"

"Sit down, Uchiha," said Kisame. "You need to eat."

"I'm not hungry."

Kisame wagged a finger jokingly, trying to lighten the darkened mood. "You know you have to eat something before you go off and hold Naruto hostage."

"Hold me hostage?!"

"Don't worry. He won't kill you."

"But I don't _want_ to be alone in a room with _him!"_

"Are you afraid I'll _kill_ you?" Sasuke questioned ominously.

"Yes, actually."

"Uh, Naruto, you know he wouldn't actually do that, right?"

"He thinks I'm insane."

"He's not."

"I never said that!_"_

"It was implied. You don't know anything about me but a few sentences you happened to overhear," Sasuke ground out, turning around and beginning to tug the blond away. Naruto simply refused. He dug the heels of his socked feet into the carpet and held onto the couch.

"The world doesn't revolve around you, Uchiha," snarled Naruto. "Other people have problems of their own."

"What would one of your problems be?" Sasuke sneered. "Granny didn't get you the golden limo you wanted for your birthday?"

"Screw you!"

"Humans can't be screwed. That's what screws are for."

"Shut up and die, Uchiha!"

_Die, Uchiha!_

The words echoed in his mind.

_Die, Uchiha!_

_Die, die, I want to die!_

"Die," Sasuke robotically repeated in a whisper. "To die."

"Crap."

Kisame ran to the kitchen and noisily opened the cupboards, searching through them hastily, making a mental note of how empty they were.

"Did I trigger something?" asked Naruto, suddenly afraid of being attached to Sasuke. He stared at the boy, who seemed to be completely motionless, staring at the fading walls with a detached look on his face.

"Yeah, yeah, just stay calm," Kisame said absently, still searching. "Where the hell does he _put_ those things? Uh, Naruto, try to snap him out of it until I can find a tranquilizer."

"What?!" the blond exclaimed. "Me?! How?"

"You have two options." Kisame had now moved out of the kitchen and went to search through the drawers of a desk in the living room. "You can talk him out of it, or you can punch him. Aha!"

Kisame found a syringe in one of the drawers, but upon further inspection, he realized it was empty. With a frustrated growl, he threw the syringe onto the floor and quickly ran into Itachi's room.

"I want to die," repeated Sasuke, walking towards the kitchen in a trance-like manner. "Die . . . die . . . I want to die."

"No you don't, Sasuke," Naruto tried. He pulled on the handcuffs, trying to stop Sasuke from moving. "You want to live."

"Die. I want to die."

When Sasuke realized he wasn't getting anywhere, he turned around fiercely to stare into Naruto's eyes. Naruto thought they looked insanely fierce. A trickle of sweat fell down his temple.

"Let me die."

"Uh . . . um, Sasuke?"

"I want to die."

Sasuke was now advancing towards him with his hands in a strangling position, a snarl on his empty face, lacking any emotion whatsoever. Naruto, unconsciously moving backwards, thought of what Kisame had said. Option number one was out of the question so . . .

_WHAM!_

Sasuke staggered backwards, his eyes wide open in shock, and lost his balance. He fell to the floor, narrowly avoiding the coffee table, and lay motionless on his back. Naruto fell directly next to him from the force of Sasuke's fall.

"Found it!" Kisame called cheerfully, entering the room with a syringe in hand. He stared around. "Uh, hello?"

"Down here, Kisame," grumbled Naruto. Sasuke was still staring at the ceiling.

_Ow._

Kisame whistled and grinned. "Well, it looks like I won't be needing this baby!" He set it down on the coffee table and knelt beside Sasuke. "Uchiha, whatever is interesting on the ceiling can't be more interesting than me."

Sasuke simply continued to stare, unblinkingly, at the ceiling. Naruto sat upright and rubbed the back of his head.

"Uh . . . Sasuke?"

And suddenly, Sasuke was above him.

"Why the hell did you hit me?" the Uchiha demanded, blood dripping from his nose to splatter onto Naruto's cheek. "I didn't do anything!"

"That's exactly why I hit you!" retorted Naruto.

"Hey, hey! Sasuke, calm down!"

Sasuke raised his left hand, but remembered that Naruto's hand was still attached to it and let out a scream of annoyance and anger.

"Why is it that everything has to be so in_competent?"_

Kisame managed to pull the frustrated Uchiha off of Naruto before violence could ensue. He sat the two boys on separate ends of the couch.

"Sasuke, you were going into another attack," the bluish man explained. "Naruto punched you to snap you out of it."

Sasuke took several tissues from the box on the table to stem the flow of blood from his nose and said nothing. Naruto looked slightly guilty, but his anger took over and a grimace was etched onto his face.

"Alright, here's the deal," said Kisame. "Naruto, think before you speak. Sasuke, don't piss him off. Get it? Got it? Good."

Before anyone could speak, loud, electronic words accompanied by cheesy background music rang out.

_"I feel pretty, oh so pretty. I feel pretty, and witty, and –"_

"Hello?"

Kisame held his cell phone to his ear and listened to what sounded like high-pitched squabble over the other side.

"Deidara, _calmly_ state what happened."

More squabble. A loud clatter burst in the background and what sounded like sirens suddenly blared.

"This is a bad time! I've got things to do. Can you tell the chimps to hold on for a while?"

Clapping, screaming, and then silence were heard. After a steady pause, it all resumed once more. Kisame grimaced.

"Is it a complete emergency?"

Over the sound of what seemed to be gerbils on helium, an audible and seemingly-desperate _YES _was heard.

Kisame gave an apologetic look towards Sasuke and Naruto, who had no idea what was going on, and said, "Fine. I'll be right there." When he closed the phone, he turned to the boys once more. "I've got an emergency on my hands and I don't know how long it'll take. How long are you boys going to stay like this?"

"Until Kakashi comes," supplied Sasuke moodily, his voice coming out muffled from the many blood-soaked napkins.

"And when's that?"

"He wanted to surprise us," concluded Naruto.

Kisame sighed. He had a real predicament on his hands. He had to leave and help his friend, but was it possible to leave the two trouble-makers alone in an empty house? He had no choice. Deidara had sounded ultimately desperate over the line, and the chimpanzees weren't making anything better.

"Please, don't try and do anything stupid, okay?" he finally said, getting up. "If you want to kill each other, try and wait until Kakashi comes or something. I'm _begging_ you not to do anything, because no one else will be around to help."

Without waiting for any replies, Kisame headed to the door. He waited for the right moment when Sasuke was preoccupied to turn around and stare pointedly at the blond. "Naruto," was all he said. He pointed to the syringe on the coffee table. Naruto understood.

Kisame left.

Sasuke promptly stood up without a word, pulling Naruto off of the couch with him. Not wanting anything else to happen, Naruto complied and followed Sasuke to what he assumed was the bathroom door. The Uchiha entered the smallish room and immediately went to the sink.

The bathroom was as small as one could get when it only had a small tub, a sink with a cabinet above it, and a toilet to occupy its area. It was purely white and seemed to be scrubbed to shining textures.

Sasuke had gotten the sink going and had his face beneath the gushing water, giving off groans of pain every now and then at his abused nose. Naruto busied himself with playing with a stray thread on his peach shirt.

When the Uchiha was finished, he dried his face on a navy towel and inspected himself in the cracked mirror. Satisfied, he left the bathroom, not caring if Naruto noticed or not.

"Are you just going to sit around all day?" asked Naruto. "I'm bored."

To Naruto's surprise, Sasuke sat on the small wooden stool on one side of the chess board, forcing Naruto to stand on the other side.

"Sit," said the Uchiha when Naruto gave no sign of sitting on the other stool.

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"You said you wanted something to do."

Naruto finally sat down, inwardly admiring the stool he was on. It was delicately made, with engravings of the recognizable Uchiha symbol and metal-work vines crawling up the legs. "I don't know how to play," Naruto admitted.

After much inward debating, Sasuke said, "I'll teach you."

After all, there wasn't much else to do in the house, and Sasuke couldn't really play with someone who didn't know the rules. Sasuke told himself that it was simply on his own selfish whim and nothing else.

Naruto learned chess in fifteen minutes, contrary to what Sasuke believed he could take in. Despite losing to Sasuke within the first few minutes, he soon got the hang of it. Dare he say, he thought it was _fun._ Being able to think of different positions, of different tactics, made the game feel like it came to life. He felt like he was really in the medieval ages, battling knights for castles and land.

"Take _that!_" Naruto exclaimed when he'd taken one of Sasuke's pawns.

"Check."

"What?!"

Naruto's eyes scanned the board. It was their fourth game. He found his king being held captive by Sasuke's knight.

"No way! That can't be true!"

He moved.

Sasuke moved.

"Checkmate."

Naruto watched his king fall from the push of Sasuke's finger, watching – almost as if in slow motion – the wooden piece fall to the board with a dull _clack_ of defeat.

"Ack!"

Naruto fell back, forgot that it was a stool and not a backed chair, and fell to the floor in a tangle of limbs. The ghost of a smirk crossed Sasuke's face, but it disappeared when he felt his hand get tugged.

Sasuke flew forwards, collapsed atop the low table with the chess board on it, and he and the piece of furniture were soon sprawled next to a certain blond.

"Asshole," Sasuke grumbled, getting to his knees. "You're helping me clean up."

Naruto laughed despite the situation. "Sorry," he said. He put the table back into its rightful position and began picking up the pieces. Taking the king in his hand, he finally realized something special about the polished pieces of wood.

"Hey, these are hand-carved, aren't they?"

Sasuke took them rudely from the blonde's hands and set them on the board. Naruto merely picked another piece off of the floor and examined it. "They _are!"_

"What's your point?" grumbled Sasuke, taking a few more pieces and setting them up neatly in their respective positions.

"Well, if they're all hand-carved, then you're not as poor as you make yourself out to be," said Naruto. "I've got a hand-carved set and it cost me a _lot."_

"For your information," Sasuke ground out, despising the fact Naruto included money in the situation, "_I_ made them." He then busied himself with placing the pieces in exact order once more, not waiting for Naruto's reaction. Had he looked, however, he would've seen Naruto's wide eyes.

"You _made_ these?" he asked incredulously. "But these look so pro_fessional!_ You could get paid a _lot!_"

"I don't do anything for anyone," said Sasuke. "Selling the things I make would be pointless, if I can just _make_ them instead of gaining money to _buy_ others."

Naruto pointed to the stool. "You made this, too, didn't you?" He then pointed to a painting behind Sasuke; this one particularly was a scenic view of what seemed to be a snow-covered field and a cottage at the end of a winding trail. "What about that? Can you paint?"

"You ask too many questions."

"Well, Kakashi _did_ say we had to write an essay by the end of this month, and I don't think I'd get a good grade if I wrote about how much I hate you."

Sasuke sighed and ran his right hand through his hair, staring at the painting. "My brother made it."

Naruto looked like he was trying to decide which emotion to place on his face. He chose surprise. "That's _amazing!_ You guys could do _anything_ together! Why doesn't he just _sell_ them instead of working?"

"It's long, and it's complicated, and it's none of your business," barked Sasuke. "You've got your answers. Now stop bugging me."

They went into silence for a long time. The two of them still sat on the stools. Sasuke was content with the silence, but it seemed as if Naruto wasn't. It wasn't long before he began to speak.

"I wonder when Kakashi will get here," he said. "I'm hungry. It's dinner time. _And_ it's dark outside."

Sasuke quietly stood, silently telling Naruto to follow him as he ventured into the kitchen. He unhooked one of the pots from the kitchen and placed it on the stove.

"What's your favorite dish?"

It took Naruto a while to realize that Sasuke spoke.

"Did the Uchiha actually complete a sentence?" he said in awe, watching Sasuke light the stove with a match.

"What's your favorite dish?" Sasuke repeated in the same monotone.

"Uh, ramen. I wrote that on the paper Kakashi made us fill out, remember?"

Actually, Sasuke _didn't_ remember. He'd forgotten where he'd put it as well, but he carried on, looking through the cupboards and forcing Naruto to follow.

"Make yourself useful and pour some water into the pot. Four cups of it."

Naruto stared strangely at Sasuke but obeyed. He reached with one hand to grab a cup from beside the sink and open the tap, allowing Sasuke enough distance to reach up into a cupboard and pull out a bag of hardened noodles.

"You're making dinner?"

"No. I'm going to feed the cats outside."

"Oh . . ."

"I'm making dinner!"

"Oh!"

Naruto certainly brightened at that, having not noticed the sarcasm earlier. Sasuke, had his other hand been free, would have hit himself _and_ the blond, but resorted to pouring some of the noodles from the bag and into the pot.

"You can cook, too?"

Sasuke stirred the noodles.

"Granny would never let me near the stove."

Sasuke moved to the refrigerator, taking Naruto with him. He pulled out several things: tomatoes, onions, ginger, a box of sweet corn, and a stick of butter. Naruto helped carry the things over to the table, where Sasuke set him to work slicing the onions and ginger roots as he took a few bottles of spices from the cupboard above them.

"So . . ." began Naruto as he sliced the onions. "Where did you use to live?"

Sasuke didn't answer as he put in three drops of soy sauce into the boiling noodles.

"How was life like?"

Sasuke took the cut ingredients and added them into the broth.

"Do you like it better here or there?"

Sasuke tasted the mixture, liked it, and stopped the boiling noodles.

"Are you planning on answering me?"

He emptied them into a strainer and soon placed them into two separate bowls, adding more into Naruto's. What soup had gone from the strainer was separated evenly into both bowls. Atop of the noodles, he placed two slices of ginger and sprinkled corn in a decorative manner.

"Put these on the bar."

As best as the distance would let him, Naruto took one bowl at a time and placed them onto the bar that separated the kitchen from the living room. Sasuke met him there with two pairs of chopsticks and a bowl of cherry tomatoes.

"This smells delicious," commented Naruto. "Where'd you learn how to cook?"

Sasuke put a tomato into his mouth, mentally smirking.

"I'm digging in!" **[1]**

Naruto enthusiastically buried his chopsticks into the bowl, slurping up the noodles. He chewed thoughtfully, savoring the flavor, and then smiled. "This is a_mazing!"_

"Nothing but," Sasuke replied cockily. Naruto accepted the cockiness. If one could make ramen as great as what he'd tasted, then one deserved to be cocky.

After a filling round of dinner (where Sasuke had been forced to eat the entirety of his ramen) and the washing of the dishes, Naruto challenged Sasuke to another game of chess.

That's when things got ugly.

Halfway through the game, Naruto had his pawns laid out in an F shape, and began to weave his knight through them. Sasuke's eyes widened at the maneuver. It wasn't until Naruto said something did his memory finally kick in.

"You are no match for me, Sasuke," boasted Naruto in a feigned deep voice, gaining the upper hand in the game. "You'll have to do better than that to get to my level of superior-ness! Ahaha!"

Sasuke's mind malfunctioned, not because Naruto had cornered him, no. It was because of the memory that came with the move.

"_The __**F**__ugaku maneuver," _he had called it._ "The knight slips past his sacrifices to stalk the real target."_ He would never forget the way his eyes bore into his own, showing disappointment and an ego that could reign over the universe. _"You are no match for me, son. You will need to become more skilled in order to reach my level of superiority. Until then, I will not meet you in chess again." _And then he'd stood up to walk away, leaving Sasuke alone, depressed, and wanting to become better at the game. He'd be unbeatable.

"I _will_ beat you!" Sasuke exclaimed, suddenly standing up. The chess board fell from the table at the movement.

"Hey!" cried Naruto. "That's no reason to be a sore loser!"

But when he'd stared into Sasuke's eyes, they were blank, like the many times he'd gone into hysteria. Naruto began to get worried.

"Sasuke," he tested. "Sasuke, come back."

"You will_ not_ beat me!" the Uchiha spat, staring emptily into Naruto's eyes. "I _will_ surpass you!"

"Uh . . . Sasuke, it's me. Naruto. You know, the blond kid you think is annoying."

He reached out to touch Sasuke's shoulder for assurance.

Bad move.

The Uchiha swiftly grabbed Naruto's arm and jerked it so that the blond lost his balance and fell to the floor, narrowly avoiding the coffee table as Sasuke had done previously. Sasuke was atop of him suddenly, straddling him, and his hand slithered around Naruto's neck.

_What is with him and strangling me?!_

"I _will_ surpass you."

"Sasuke! Sasuke, snap out of it!"

Sasuke squeezed harder. Naruto's vision was fading.

_"Naruto,"_ came Kisame's voice. The imaginary image of Kisame in his mind pointed to the syringe on the table.

_The syringe!_

With shaking fingers, Naruto blindly groped for the syringe on the table. Dots were coming into his vision and through them, he could see Sasuke's manic, satisfied smirk, like he'd just gained what he'd wanted most.

Naruto's fingers found the syringe. He felt for the needle tip, held it the other way, and without hesitation, brought his hand down to stab Sasuke's forearm.

The Uchiha screamed in pain as Naruto hastily emptied the liquid into his vein.

"Naru . . . to?" he said weakly when he'd fallen to the floor, staring at the vision of the blond.

"Just get some rest, Sasuke," said Naruto sadly. He pulled the syringe from the boy's arm. "Just get some rest."

When Sasuke's eyes had closed and his breathing had evened out, Naruto took a tissue from the coffee table and wiped away the blood that had come from the tiny prick of the needle. Not knowing what else to do, he heaved Sasuke's limp figure onto the couch and sat beside him, staring at the framed painting ahead of him without actually seeing the picture. He didn't want to see anything.

He didn't want to see Sasuke

Because he knew if he did, he'd cry.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] "I'm digging in!" - **This would be the infamous "Itadakimasu!". However, since I have made a pact with myself to not include any random Japanese (because I find it annoying and would be a hypocrite if I incorporated it into my own writing), I gave the English translation. So it sounds weird. Oh well.

-- I'm so mean to Sasuke. The rest of the events in this story are worth every punch.  
-- Oh, and for all those who asked: 100% on the History exam. I had the luck of my readers/fans on my side. Thank you so much for every ounce of it. (Even though our History teacher was a little _too_ generous . . .)


	8. Lie, Lie, Lie

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I would be able to come up with a better disclaimer.

**Author's Note:** I'm not completely loaded with work (I only have one thing to study), and so I'm mildy happy today. Hooray!  
OVER 100 REVIEWS! WE'VE HIT THE MARKER IN ONLY 7 CHAPTERS! I AM SO UTTERLY GRATEFUL! THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH!

**Important Note #1:** This chapter is _crucial_. It might seem like a slow, unimportant chapter, with random events, but the events **_ARE_** important! Read the details carefully and remember them because I'll be making a lot of connections in the next chapter. Chapter 9 is where all the action starts, so look forward to it!

**Important Note #2:** I have decided to cut anonymous reviews for now. I know I'll probably be losing about four or five reviews, and some anonymous reviewers are really sincere and for that, I am completely and utterly sorry. But I've had a bug on my back for a while and I thought it was time to completely flick it off, so I had to disable them. I'm terribly sorry. Hopefully, in the next couple of chapters, I'll be able to put them back on.

**Important Note #3:** After the same question has been asked constantly, I've decided to address it here: No, this story will **_NOT_** be a yaoi-genred romance between Sasuke and Naruto. I have nothing against yaoi, etc. I am simply just not a romantic person and will _not_ write about romance as the main theme. Sorry to those who expected it.

Sorry to waste your reading time!

**Chapter 8  
**…**:::Lie, Lie, Lie:::…  
****DJ OZMA**

**[WARNING:** **Strong use of language throughout the entire story, courtesy of Sound 5 and Naruto's anger. And if you haven't read the important notes above, I suggest you do. Please. I don't want to answer questions that have already been answered.]**

The door opened slowly, illuminating the darkened room with light. The figure took his key from the knob, closed the door, and took off his shoes.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the darkness. He flicked on the lights to the living room and was met with a peculiar site:

Sasuke and Naruto were both asleep on opposite sides of the couch, their heads resting on the cushioned arms. A syringe lay motionless on the table. Kakashi put two and two together and got four and a half.

"Naruto," he said, shaking the boy gently. "Naruto, wake up."

The blond sleepily lifted his head, rubbing his eyes with his left hand. He blinked wearily at Kakashi.

"Finally!" the blond managed to exclaim. "I was so _bored!"_

"What exactly happened here?" asked Kakashi, staring at the syringe. It had a droplet of blood on its needle tip.

"Nothing, really." Naruto sat upright and continued to rub his eyes. "Some guy named Kisame was here. He was nice, but he had to leave. Oh, and I punched Sasuke in the nose because he was having another attack. So then Sasuke taught me chess, we played it, he made dinner, we ate it, and then I stabbed him." Naruto shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing much."

"I see," Kakashi concluded, rubbing his chin. He felt the Uchiha's forehead, opened his eyelids, and stared at the blond once more. "And why exactly did you stab him?"

"He was going to kill me, so I took the needle Kisame told me to use and put it into his arm. I guess I must've fallen asleep."

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. He checked Sasuke's pulse from his wrist. When he was content, he reached into the pocket of his khaki pants and pulled out a key, its metallic surface glimmering from the sliver of light that peeked through the curtains.

"Come on, I have to take you home," he said, putting the key into Naruto's side of the handcuff.

"Kakashi," Naruto said suddenly as Kakashi turned the key. "I want to help him." He rubbed his raw wrist when the bond came off. "I want to really help him."

"I don't think there's anything you can do, Naruto."

The silver-haired man gently unlocked Sasuke's wrist as well and pocketed the metallic bands. He lifted Sasuke from the couch effortlessly and walked to the door in the back. Naruto followed.

"There has to be something," continued Naruto. He stared at Sasuke's serene figure and frowned. "I just feel so . . . _sorry_ for him, even though he can be a real jerk, but he's always alone in this house. Even _I_ would be going crazy. No one should go through what he goes through."

Kakashi tried not to tell Naruto that even if he was stuck in a room with a banana, he'd go crazy. He set Sasuke on his bed and pulled the covers over his frail body, taking note of his decrease in weight yet again.

"If you want to help him," Kakashi began, ushering the boy from the room, "you've got to try and understand him first." He locked the door to the Uchiha household and continued the conversation as they headed outside. "Uchiha Sasuke is like a time bomb. Something will trigger a reaction. You've got to find out what makes him tick before he explodes every now and then. And when he _does_ explode . . ."

They were both outside now. Naruto's driver was waiting beside a car, waving cheerily to the blond.

". . . You've got to brace yourself for the hit and find out why he went off."

Naruto stopped for a moment, thinking about the clever metaphor Kakashi had come up with. He turned around.

"Thanks, Kaka . . . shi?"

But Kakashi was nowhere in sight. Naruto smiled sadly, resumed his original direction, and greeted his driver enthusiastically.

_Tick, tick, tick, tick._

_A time bomb, huh?_

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Come on, Sasuke."

Sasuke still thought it was a dream.

"Sasuke, come on, or you'll be late for school."

After all, Itachi hadn't woken him up for a while.

The youngest Uchiha opened his eyes to find an older image of himself. He raised an eyebrow.

"Where's Naruto?" he grumbled. "What time is it? And why are you here?"

Itachi put a random t-shirt over his head. "Kakashi told me that you had another panic attack while you were alone with Naruto yesterday," he said. "Naruto put the sedative into you. Now come on. School's in an hour."

"That still doesn't explain why you're here," said Sasuke, adjusting his prosthesis properly as he watched his older brother hastily brush his hair.

"I slept in," the older Uchiha replied. "I don't know why, either. Your alarm clock woke me up."

"I told you that you wouldn't be able to work for so long."

"You never told me that."

"Yeah, well I was thinking it."

Itachi smirked. "My, my, what a complex mind you have, Sasuke."

"At least when I do math, I don't have to count with my fingers."

"Because you count with your toes. Now get dressed. I'm driving you."

"Touché."

Sasuke smirked, cherishing the moments he had with Itachi when his older brother was present.

"How was your first day of punishment?" Itachi asked when the two of them were putting their shoes on. Sasuke had to take the toaster waffle out of his mouth to reply.

"Naruto punched me, and then I taught him chess."

Itachi's smirk only widened. He tied his shoelaces and stood, patting his brother teasingly on the head. "You have a lovely way with words, little brother."

"Of course I do. Now move, or you'll be late, and I'll be late."

Sasuke pushed his brother out the door.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Naruto was oddly silent when Sasuke entered the guidance office. The blond was on his usual orange chair, staring at the ground. When Sasuke walked in, Naruto looked up, looked back down, and gave a feeble, "Hey, Sasuke."

Sasuke didn't grace him with a reply as he sat on his navy beanbag chair and looked around. Kakashi wasn't present, which wasn't unlike him.

"Back to the silent game, I see."

Silence.

"So none of that fun stuff happened yesterday?"

Silence.

"It doesn't mean anything to you, does it?"

Silence.

"Do you realize that you're the one making this difficult?"

. . . Silence.

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms, his brows furrowing. _Tick, tick, tick, tick. _"Did you even have any friends back at that school of yours? Did anyone really want to talk to you? Did _you_ really talk to anyone?"

Naruto sighed and turned away, not expecting an answer. He glanced at the clock. School would start in a few minutes and if he was lucky, Kakashi would be late, and they wouldn't be stuck together.

". . . No."

"Huh?"

Naruto turned back to the Uchiha, who was turned to face the door. The pale boy had his hands clenching the fluffy material of the beanbag chair he was on, his eyes set onto the door, but not actually _seeing_ it.

"Why not?" Naruto whispered, as if afraid that if his voice was too loud, he'd shatter the fragile image of the Uchiha affront of him; as if the simple two words would set off the time bomb.

He desperately wanted an answer. After a long silence, he thought he wasn't going to get one. However, through clenched teeth, he did. It was whispered ominously.

"Everyone was too afraid . . . Too fake."

Kakashi chose the perfect moment to walk through the door, as if their reality was actually a story and the author had nothing else to say in the moment, so his abrupt and strategically-timed arrival was necessary. He smiled, waved cheerfully, and said, "Are you ready, kids?"

"Aye, aye, captain!" Naruto replied, briefly forgetting the previous conversation in spite of answering.

"I can't _hear_ you!" Kakashi looked pointedly at Sasuke, who refused to look back.

"Aye, aye, captain!" Naruto said louder. **[1]**

"Ooh . . . Who has blond hair and is as short as can be?"

"Hey, those aren't the lyrics!"

Kakashi chuckled and took the dreaded handcuffs from his back pocket. "I had another version in mind, but I gave you the censored one."

"Pervert."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"More mature, apparently," muttered Naruto, watching Kakashi hook one cuff around his wrist. He was dragged over to Sasuke, who already had his arm out expectantly.

"Oh?" said Kakashi curiously. "You're not even going to put up a fight?"

Sasuke stayed silent. When the bell rang, he was the first to rise and leave without so much a goodbye.

"Don't forget to come here second period!" Kakashi shouted after them when they'd entered the hall of bustling students. The bell had rung.

Math class was something Sasuke would never forget. It wasn't because of the important lesson they were learning, or because it was the start of the second semester, no. It was because halfway through, when Sasuke was writing down his notes, he felt someone leaning over him, and a hot breath on the back of his neck that came from a familiar voice.

"I'm not afraid. And I'm not faking."

Kakashi let them loose during second period with a strict warning that if they didn't come back, he'd come looking.

"Uchiha!" came Kankuro's voice the second he stepped into the classroom. "Long time no see!"

Sasuke nodded in acknowledgement and sat down in the empty classroom. Kankuro was polishing a puppet.

"And you still don't like to talk, I can see."

The class filled up quickly when the bell rang. Kankuro didn't care about the Tardy Policy. If he couldn't make it to things on time, why should anyone else?

"Um, I guess this class is a free class," Kankuro said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I can't seem to find my lesson plan and I'll be looking for it during the class period. Just remember to recycle and that the saw in the back isn't for fingers."

Sasuke sat and thought about what he wanted to craft.

_"Why don't you paint anymore?"_

_"I still paint."_

_"No you don't. You haven't painted a picture since we got here."_

_"I've been busy. I haven't had any inspiration, either."_

And suddenly, Sasuke knew what he wanted to make.

"Kankuro," said Sasuke at the end of the class. "You don't mind if we take the stuff we made home, right?"

"By Jove! He's uttered a sentence!" Kankuro said in mock shock, holding his hands to the side of his head. He eased, grinned, and said, "Of course it is, Uchiha. And you can use this stuff after school, too. I don't normally let my students, but you seem pretty capable of not chopping your hands off."

Sasuke nodded for the second time that class and left.

Kakashi was staring oddly at Sasuke and Naruto when he put their cuffs back on. Sasuke was deep in thought. Kakashi could tell, because Sasuke's eyes always looked to the top left, then switched to the top right when he thought. Naruto was smiling to himself, humming a tune that Kakashi didn't know. When he asked, Naruto stopped humming briefly and said, "It's for the spring concert."

Needless to say, Kakashi was concerned.

He sent them off to Chemistry with the aforementioned concerned look, but either Sasuke and Naruto both failed to notice, or they were really good at ignoring him.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Classes weren't anything special. Sasuke didn't think he'd try and make them special, either. They just didn't _click _with him. Countless times, he was awakened from his own daydreams by loud snoring, coming from Naruto himself.

After school was where the strange things happened. Making their usual trip to each others' lockers, Sasuke and Naruto were about to head out when Sasuke felt himself get tugged into an all-too-familiar room.

_I have to stop exiting the school this way._

Naruto tumbled in right after him.

"Why did you pull the blond one in, too, Sakon?"

"I didn't pull him in! It was Ukon!"

"You fucking idiot with your fucking multiple personality disorder!"

"I don't believe it . . . they're _handcuffed!"_

Sasuke grimaced and looked up to see Tayuya, Jirobo, Kidomaru, and Sakon. They surrounded him and Naruto, each one of them crossing their arms. Naruto's face became alarmed. One of them, the white-haired one, was sitting on a students' desk.

"The Sound 5!" Naruto said in alarm, standing and pointing directly at Tayuya.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Uzumaki? And why are you attached to our prize?" spat the fuchsia-haired female.

"Your _prize?"_ Sasuke and Naruto questioned, though Sasuke's had more venom dripping.

"Why is it that _every_ time we try and nab the kid, we're interfered?" said Kidomaru, throwing his hands up in the air in an exasperated manner.

"Maybe we should stop nabbing him," suggested Sakon.

"Shut up, Sakon."

"I'm _Ukon!"_

"You're in need of an a_sylum!"_

Tayuya growled at the two arguing boys and turned her attention back to Sasuke and Naruto, the two of them still sprawled on the ground. She snapped her fingers and Jirobo came to her command. With fluid, quick motions for such a large boy, he grabbed the chain of the handcuffs and lifted Naruto and Sasuke into the air with a single hand.

Naruto yelped in pain, the cuff dinging into his wrist as he dangled a few inches above the ground. Jirobo was e_normous. _Sasuke grit his teeth against the pain and suddenly wished he weighed more, so Jirobo would have more to deal with.

"How do you get this off?" asked Tayuya, inspecting the handcuffs closely. "Where's the key?"

"We don't have it," Naruto managed from his whines of pain. "What do you want from us?"

"I want nothing from you, blondie. Now where's the key?"

"Fuck off, Tayuya," spat Sasuke, flailing his legs. He found that it only made his wrist hurt further and stopped. He could practically feel his shoulder coming out of its socket.

Tayuya's hands went to Naruto's shirt and began to frisk him, patting down his front pocket, his other pockets, and eventually going down to his legs and to his shoes.

"Clean," mumbled Tayuya, moving on to Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened. She wouldn't. She couldn't.

She'd _know_ if she frisked him.

She'd _feel_ the loss of a limb.

And he didn't trust her not to tell anyone.

Tayuya's hands were on his chest, feeling their way down to his waist, and eventually reaching the pockets of his jeans. She was nearing his leg.

_I'm going to kill myself for this._

"Come on, Tayuya," Sasuke suddenly spoke up, his voice darker. Tayuya stopped her actions and raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"What is it, Uchiha? Going to tell me where the key is?"

Sasuke wiggled a little in his position.

"No, I mean, why don't you come over to my house?" he said. "Just you, me, and all the luxury you could ever want. How about it?"

Naruto made a face at Sasuke that asked him if he was insane, but Sasuke ignored it. He smirked suggestively at Tayuya instead.

Tayuya's smirk only widened and she brought a finger to trace Sasuke's cheekbone. "You're pretty cute when you're vulnerable, Uchiha," she said teasingly. "Why can't I just ravish you right here?"

Sasuke moved his face closer. "You _could._ That desk looks mighty comfortable."

"Jirobo, put him down."

"But Tayuya –"

The bulky boy stopped mid-sentence at the glare Tayuya was emitting, silently obeying. Naruto rubbed his wrist vigorously, still staring awe-struck at the Uchiha, officially deeming him mentally challenged. Sasuke, however, ignored the stinging in his wrist.

Inching closer to Tayuya, he realized he was three inches taller than her. He smirked.

The fuchsia-haired female's leer returned and she pulled Sasuke roughly close to her by the front of his shirt, rubbing her chest against his.

"Tayuya, not here!" shouted Kidomaru. "That's just plain nasty!"

"You're hot, Uchiha, did you know that?" Tayuya whispered seductively, moving their faces closer. Sasuke smirked, moving closer again. He wrapped a hand around her head and tilted his to the side, moving in.

"Sasuke, what the _hell?!"_

Sasuke flipped the blond off his with handcuffed hand and moved his lips closer to Tayuya's.

And then he slammed his head into hers.

"Move!"

Momentarily stunned, Tayuya fell backwards. Jirobo was there to catch her.

"Kimimaro!" called Kidomaru. "You're the fastest. After them!"

Sasuke pulled Naruto from the room at lightning speed, trying desperately to remove the dizziness and pain that came from such a hard hit.

"Holy shit, Uchiha! I didn't think you were joking!" called Naruto, trying to match Sasuke's pace.

"You think I'd like a girl like _her?"_

"Well, I didn't – ah!"

Sasuke felt himself get thrown back suddenly as they were turning the hall. He fell painfully to the floor, half of his body atop a certain blond that had failed to see the trashcan that hid behind the corner.

"Uzumaki!" Sasuke spat accusingly, trying desperately to stand on his knees with Naruto sprawled on the floor. "Get up! That Kimimaro guy will be here any second!"

And suddenly, something collided into him.

Three boys were now on the floor: a blond, a brunette, and a white-haired wonder.

The white-haired boy was on top of Sasuke, their faces so close that they could have been kissing. Crystal-green eyes rimmed with scarlet paint stared into obsidian.

And then Sasuke saw blood.

Kimimaro's chest convulsed, pushing into Sasuke's, and his mouth opened to cough. With the cough came blood.

"Go," the boy whispered hoarsely, moving off of the Uchiha. "Sorry. Go."

His voice was so quiet that even Sasuke, who was used to such silence, strained to hear him.

"Huh?" said Naruto, getting to his knees. Sasuke sat upright and rubbed the blood from his face with his sleeve, disgusted.

"Go. Before they come."

"You're letting us go?" asked Naruto incredulously. "Just like that?"

"I'll say that my illness took over," said Kimimaro. "I'll say I collapsed and let you two go. Just leave."

"Wait, how do we know this isn't a trick?" asked Sasuke, standing up. Naruto stood with him. "How do we know they won't be waiting for us?"

Kimimaro stared confidently into Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke stared right back.

Truth.

Sasuke nodded firmly in thanks and acknowledgement.

"Yeah," added Naruto. "Thanks a bunch, Kimimaro."

Kimimaro bowed as the two boys turned around to leave, and then went into another fit of convulsions and coughs. Despite knowing no one was after them, Sasuke and Naruto still ran to the exits, just to be sure.

"I've got a car waiting out front," said Naruto between his panting breaths. "It's just around here. You know, you've still got blood on your face."

Sasuke saw the only car left out front.

He wished he hadn't.

It was Naruto's turn to jerk backwards, his hand already stinging from previous abuse. He looked at Sasuke. The Uchiha was frozen in mid-step, one leg forward and one back, his hands out and shaking. His expression was one of utmost . . .

. . . _Fear?_

Sasuke's obsidian eyes were wide, his mouth was open, and sweat was slowly trickling down his temples, mixing with the blood that he hadn't properly wiped off. He looked like an actor in a horror movie with the way the blood was smeared over his face, and his expression was perfect.

But Naruto knew Sasuke wasn't acting.

_Tick, tick, tick, tick._

"Sasuke, what's wrong?" he asked worriedly. He looked to where Sasuke was staring.

There was nothing but his waving driver and his silver Bentley.

"Sasuke, please snap out of it."

_Tick, tick, tick, tick._

Naruto was now desperately waving his hand affront of the Uchiha, and when that didn't work, he took the boy by his shoulders and shook him.

"D-die," Sasuke whispered out, still frozen in the same pose. "H-h-he . . . he . . . No way. No. Way."

"What's gotten into you?" demanded Naruto, shaking Sasuke's still form. "What is it?"

_Tick, tick, tick, tick._

"No way!" the Uchiha finally screamed, turning to run. "No way!"

"Sasuke, that _hurts!_ What are you _doing?"_

"No way!"

And he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

_KABOOM!_

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

There was something different about the air Sasuke woke to. It wasn't the kind he was used to. It was more of a . . . richer air? Thicker? The room was definitely brighter than his, he could see through his eyelids. And there was something wet and warm rubbing his face.

Sasuke's eyes finally opened to stare at a change of scenery. The ceiling was . . . yellow.

_Yellow._

Did he piss while he was unconscious or something?

There was also an unknown woman at his side, her eyes closed and humming a song as she gently moved a cloth over Sasuke's nose.

_"It was the Bentley."_

Someone else was inside the room, and by the sounds of it, that someone was Naruto.

_"What do you mean I'm an idiot? Granny, you didn't tell me not to use the Bentley!"_

Sasuke desperately tried to suppress his memories. The Sound 5, Kimimaro, and then the car.

_The_ car.

His hands unconsciously clenched the soft sheeting beneath him. Looking to the right from the corner of his eyes as the woman turned to dip the cloth back into a banister of water, he saw a large window covered in golden curtains, opened to reveal blinding sunshine. The – _orange?!_ – walls were lavishly decorated with strips of wallpaper with a pattern of steaming bowls of ramen and chopsticks.

Sasuke realized the bed he was on was unbelievably large, as well as covered in fuzzy sheets and pillows of yellow, orange, and baby blue.

_"He's in my room, still unconscious. Should I do anything?"_

Looking to the left, Sasuke saw an unbelievably large room, probably one fit to challenge Sasuke's old bedroom. The floors were of traditional waxed wood, as were the vanities and desks. Blue swirls were painted onto one wall, behind a bulletin board and several pictures. Naruto sat on a wheeling chair directly beside Sasuke (their cuffed hands resting on the bed), a wireless phone between his shoulder and neck. As he spoke, he spun himself around as much as his cuffed hand would allow him, and then spun the other way.

"How long until your next break?" Naruto said over the phone, twirling around a set of keys. He paused, waited, and then said, "Okay, I'll see you in an hour. No, I think Kimiko will be able to do that for me. Okay. Okay. I love you, too, Granny. Bye."

The blond turned to the small desk beside the bed and set the orange (surprise, surprise) phone onto its base. He turned around to meet obsidian eyes.

"Oh! Sasuke!" He put on a sheepish grin. "I didn't think you'd wake up so soon."

The woman tending to Sasuke's face with the cloth opened her eyes in surprise. "Oh!" she said, in imitation to Naruto. She smiled. "Hello there."

"Uh, Kimiko, I think you should stop," said Naruto. "You can go take a rest downstairs with Kouji if you want. Sasuke will take it from here."

Kimiko smiled and stood, smoothing out her sun dress. She thanked Naruto, ruffled his hair affectionately, and left the room. Sasuke sat with his back against the large headboard of Naruto's (_It obviously has to be,_ thought Sasuke. _Not even my mother, who adores the color, would paint a room with such colors)_ bed.

"Uh," began Naruto uncomfortably, still turning in his chair slightly. "Granny's going to be here in an hour to check up on you."

"I can't wait," Sasuke muttered sarcastically, reaching with his free hand for the dry cloth beside the bin of water. He briefly dried his face, taking note that no more of Kimimaro's blood was on it, and turned back to Naruto.

"What happened after I fainted?" he asked in monotone. His eyes hurt from the brightness of the colors.

"Kouji – my driver – helped me pick you up and bring you home. That was only a few minutes ago, though. Kimiko volunteered to clean you up."

Sasuke raised one eyebrow mentally at the behavior of Naruto's driver and maid, but said nothing of it. He moved to get out of the bed, only to have Naruto push him back down.

"Granny says you should stay in bed until she comes."

"So?"

"So, unlike you, Uchiha, I'd get some manners and listen to her. I survived your house beneath your rules, so now you have to survive mine beneath _my_ rules."

"Are you saying I'm rude, Uzumaki?"

"I'm saying you should be more polite to my grandmother, is all, Uchiha."

"I act like I've always act."

Naruto snarled, his fuse gone. "I guess you always act like a slut, huh?"

Sasuke's free hand snaked its way to the front of Naruto's shirt, grabbing a fistful of the designer material and bringing Naruto's face closer to his. "What did you call me?"

"Grinding yourself against Tayuya like you two were going to fuck any second," spat Naruto, _his_ free hand on Sasuke's, his long nails digging into the Uchiha's. "You probably would've gone through with it if I wasn't attached to your hand."

"That's _not_ how I play," Sasuke whispered ominously. "It was a _plan._ If I recall correctly, _I_ saved _you."_

Naruto knew it was part of a devious plan. He knew Sasuke only did it so Tayuya wouldn't feel down to his prosthetic leg, but it was an impulse to retort. It was like the only way the two of them could communicate was through an argument.

"What did _I_ need saving from? _You_ were the one they wanted! I would've gotten out clean, but you just _had_ to play with Tayuya. How many girls have you played with in your past life, Uchiha? Did _you_ pay them, or did they pay _you?"_

Sasuke let out a strangled yell of fury, his fist making contact with Naruto's skull. "You punched me in my house," he said. "I thought it's only fair if I punched you."

"You strangled me in my house," said Naruto, jumping atop Sasuke. "I think it's only _fair_ that I should strangle _you!"_

His hands wound themselves around the Uchiha's thin neck, not squeezing to cause asphyxiation, but just enough to put the Uchiha in pain. The brunette bucked wildly, trying desperately to get the blond off of him. They were acting like immature idiots and he didn't care.

"Asshole," he ground out through his teeth. His face was rapidly reddening.

"We were getting along _fine_, Uchiha," said Naruto, squeezing a little harder. Sasuke's face darkened in hue. "But I guess it was just never meant to be. No matter how much they try, you and I will _never_ be friends."

Naruto let go of Sasuke's neck and sat back on his bed, running one hand through his sun-spun spikes. The Uchiha took a second to compose himself. He cleared his throat several times, wincing at the pain that came with it and wondering if Naruto had felt the same way beneath the strangling hands of the Uchiha.

"You . . ." he began. He cleared his throat again. "You aren't like the other kids. You and some of your friends."

"I'll take that as a compliment," snapped Naruto.

Sasuke glared and shut his mouth, turning to look outside of the window.

"You aren't afraid. Or fake."

Naruto, although trying his best _not_ to look at Sasuke (who was still looking out of the window), visibly relaxed. His shoulders fell and a sad smile crept onto his face.

"My dad," he began, staring at his crossed legs, "used to tell me all the time that loneliness is the scariest feeling the world's ever experienced. He told me that even those who pretend to love solitude eventually get lonely."

"Your father must've been very wise," whispered Sasuke. His gaze wavered from the window to the blond, but he averted it back to the window.

"What about your dad?" asked Naruto. He knew he was tempting death, but he didn't care. "Was he wise?"

Sasuke tensed. The room was filled with thick silence for a while. Naruto's eyes finally shifted to the Uchiha.

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I didn't mean to –"

"He was power-hungry," whispered Sasuke. Naruto immediately stopped, wanting to listen to a once-in-a-lifetime moment. "He only cared about three things: my mother, my brother, and our empire."

"Sorry . . ."

Sasuke turned around, his eyes hardened and emotionless. "You have nothing to be sorry about," he said. "It's his fault."

Naruto went into thought throughout the comfortable silence that fell upon them. Sasuke hadn't mentioned his father caring about him, only his other known relatives. He wondered how the relationship between father and son must've been within the Uchiha estate.

His thoughts eventually went back to a certain encounter he'd had with Sasuke.

"You said," he began quietly, hoping he wouldn't start something else, "that you were . . . you were in a coma . . . for six months."

Sasuke's back stiffened. He turned around to stare at Naruto once more.

"When did you learn that?" he asked, his voice eerily whispered.

Naruto gulped. "You said it," he said in the same volume. "When we were fighting in your room."

Sasuke's eyes moved to the left, then to the right.

"So, is it true?" Naruto regained his voice. "Did you really –"

"Don't push it, Uzumaki," the Uchiha quickly interrupted. "If I had things I wanted you to know, I'd tell you."

They sat in the silence until there was a knock on the door.

"Brat, it's me."

"The door's unlocked, Granny," called Naruto, snapping himself out of his thoughts. Sasuke continued to stare out the window he had begun to look at once more.

Tsunade entered, still in her work clothes, with a small bag of medical tools in her hand. She walked to where the two boys sat and raised an eyebrow.

"Not arguing? Did you sedate him?"

"I am perfectly capable of hearing," Sasuke spoke from where he sat, never turning around to face her.

"What's gotten the two of you so quiet?"

She set down her bag of tools on the bed and ordered the Uchiha to turn around so she could give him his checkup. Sasuke did so, allowing the woman to lift his shirt as she casually spoke to Naruto.

"Hinata gets out tomorrow," she said. She put a stethoscope to Sasuke's chest, prodding his ribs to check for anything out of place.

"Neji's going to ride with me to pick her up from the hospital, and then we'll be heading to the Chalk O' Lit Café tomorrow to celebrate."

"You haven't lost any weight, Uchiha, but you haven't gained any weight, either," Tsunade told the brooding boy. She tested his eyesight next. "How's that insomnia doing?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"What's this?"

She prodded Sasuke's neck suddenly. Naruto's fingerprints were still a bright cherry on his pallid skin. Tsunade turned to glare pointedly at Naruto.

"I'm going to take a wild guess here and say that this is your work."

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "We got into a little argument when he woke up, but nothing serious."

Tsunade considered scolding her grandson, but thought it was too much of a hassle. She turned back to Sasuke. "At least now you both know how it feels to get choked," she said sarcastically. She patted the hand of the chair she sat on. "Leg up, Uchiha. There's nothing left to hide."

Sasuke hesitated for a second, stealing a fleeting glance at the blond. Naruto stared right back at him without any hint of hesitation. The Uchiha grumbled and set his leg on the arm of Tsunade's chair, pulling his jeans back so they reached his thigh, showing his prosthetic leg clearly.

Tsunade took it into her hands and raised it, inspecting the coating, the flexibility, and other main attributes to the mechanical leg.

"There's a little tension in the ankles and the knee," she said after a while. "Did you run without switching it into second mode?"

Sasuke didn't reply. He stared at his other leg, massaging the kneecap with his knuckles softly.

"If she asks you a question, you should answer," said Naruto, not in a condescending way, but just one that showed how much he cared for his grandmother.

"It's okay, brat," replied Tsunade, smirking. "This is how we communicate. His silence just means he doesn't want me to know that he's screwed up. You're free to go, Uchiha."

"I wish it was that simple," muttered Sasuke, indicating his cuffed hand. Tsunade chuckled in spite of herself.

"Don't do anything stupid, you two. Dinner's going to be ready at six or so. I expect Kakashi to be here late, so Naruto, show him around the house and bring him to the playroom or something."

Tsunade stood, clapped Sasuke on the back, kissed Naruto on the cheek, and left. Sasuke hastily pulled his jeans down to cover his ankles (his shoes had been taken off, he noticed, to leave him in his navy socks).

"Come on," said Naruto. "If we're going to pass the time, I'd might as well show you how you can do it here in this house."

Sasuke obeyed silently, not because he wanted to be "nice", but because he had nothing better to do. His socked feet made quiet thumps across the wooden floor. Naruto opened his door and stepped into the hallway.

At least, Sasuke _thought_ it was a hallway.

It looked more like a long, apricot room, stretched to infinity, with several pictures and paintings and ornaments decorating the walls. Naruto led Sasuke to a room three doors to the right. Sasuke caught sight of marble steps winding downstairs to a spacious pearl hall.

"This is where I spend most of my time," said Naruto as he turned the golden doorknob and opened the polished door.

Sasuke's eyes swept over the room in a single glance, doing a double-take occasionally. He had never had a playroom, himself. His father never tolerated it. They _had_, however, had a training room.

The first thing Sasuke noticed was the solid color of baby blue that the walls were painted. The second thing he noticed was . . . hard to say. He noticed quite a lot of things at one.

He noticed that there was a large, flat-screen television in the middle of a wall at the end of the room, beanbag chairs surrounding it and game consoles (equipped with dozens of games) stacked neatly on shelves.

He noticed that to the left, there was a pinball machine, followed by a dart board, an indoor basketball hoop, a table of checkers, and a retro-designed desk with a laptop computer (of the latest style) on it.

He noticed that to the right, a large assortment of musical instruments lined the wall. There was an ebony grand piano in the corner, followed by baskets of smaller instruments (a harmonica, a woodblock, a flexi-tone . . .), then a wooden flute on its stand. An electric guitar and an acoustic guitar stood together on either side of a large amplifier. A lone cello stood beside the grand piano, brothering an alto saxophone and an encased trumpet.

Naruto was already pulling Sasuke through the room, stopping in front of the instruments.

"Can you play all these?" Sasuke asked with mild interest.

Naruto shook his head. "Some of these are Granny's. I've tried all of them, but they're really hard to get. I'm a guitarist."

He picked up the acoustic guitar and moved with Sasuke as the Uchiha moved down the row of instruments. He sat at the piano briefly, flexing his fingers over the keys and chords.

"Can you play?"

"I used to," said Sasuke. "It was a requirement from my father."

He played a quick, classical song. Naruto grimaced. Sasuke smirked. "I don't like the tune too much, either," he said. "I was taught piano mathematically by a teacher, but I learned it differently."

He played a different song; this one was jazzier, catching Naruto in a toe-tapping upbeat.

"I don't play anymore, though."

"Why'd you stop? You're really good at it."

Sasuke brushed his fingers against the keys lightly. He didn't answer for a while. Quietly, he said, "We can't afford a keyboard, let alone a piano."

"Oh . . ." Naruto rubbed the back of his neck nervously, balancing the guitar on his thigh. "Well, anything else of your interest?" he asked, strumming the guitar strings absentmindedly. "I can play the violin a bit, and the trumpet."

"Saxophone," said Sasuke, eyeing the golden instrument. "And cello. And guitar, actually."

"Saxophone? I can understand the cello, because your father seems to be the type, and almost everyone's learning guitar nowadays, but saxophone?"

"I didn't tell him I had joined the school band."

Naruto smirked, sitting on the chair of the piano next to Sasuke. He strummed a few chords, humming along, before beginning to sing along with his playing.

"I am _fall_ing up to Heaven. I am _falling_ through a dream," he said, smiling. "I can't go back, can't look back, and you'll see what I mean."

"Falling _up_ to Heaven?" Sasuke questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," said Naruto. "It's symbolic for people that have done good deeds."

"Not that. Don't people normally fall _down?"_

"People that have done good have turned into angels," said Naruto. "So they fall, sure, but where do angels go when they fall?"

Sasuke shrugged, not getting the so-called Naruto logic.

"Up!"

He strummed a few more chords and continued singing the same verse in his semi-talented voice. "I'm supposed to do a solo for the next concert, but I never really could write any more past that verse."

"It's supposed to be an uppity beat, right?" asked Sasuke, reaching over and grabbing the alto saxophone.

"Well, yeah, but it gets slower and sadder through the middle somewhere."

There was a reed already placed in the mouthpiece of the saxophone. Without asking Naruto for permission, or asking whose reed it was, Sasuke slipped it from the ligature and into his mouth. Naruto watched him with interest.

Sasuke blew into the saxophone after a few seconds of wetting the reed, playing a full scale (of Concert B flat).

"Just play," he instructed Naruto, positioning his hand better so Naruto would be able to play at the same time he would. "The song, I mean. Just play."

Raising an eyebrow, Naruto warily brought his fingers upon the strings. He strummed the introduction chords and went right into the chorus.

"I am _fall_ing up to Heaven."

To his surprise, Sasuke mimicked his lyrics, but the melody went to the saxophone, adding in a jazzy echo that ended with a drawn-out high note and returned to normal. Naruto forced himself to continue, despite his surprise.

"I am _falling_ through a dream."

Once again, Sasuke echoed his lyrics with the saxophone.

"I can't go back, can't look back, and you'll see what I mean."

Sasuke inserted his own jazzy, yet perfectly-fitting tune in the pause of Naruto's singing, eventually stopping when he realized Naruto had no more to give.

"Is _the_ Uchiha Sasuke actually being _friendly?"_ Naruto said teasingly.

"Don't get used to it," the Uchiha barked right back, resting his mouth on the mouthpiece. Naruto shrugged. "This is a onetime thing. It's not like I'm going to sit back and stare." **[2]**

"I just thought that was pretty cool," said Naruto. "You're good at improvising."

Sasuke set the saxophone down and adjusted the cuff on his wrist. They went into silence after that. Naruto stood up eventually to put the guitar away, taking Sasuke with him. He led the Uchiha to the television screen and plopped down on one of the beanbag chairs.

"Are you any good at videogames?" he asked, taking a controller.

"My father didn't think games were appropriate."

"You mean you've _never_ played a videogame before?"

Sasuke frowned. "Are you mocking me?" he asked darkly.

Naruto held his hands up in defense. "No way!" he said hastily. "I'm just surprised. Your dad was one uptight guy."

He tossed Sasuke a controller. Not expecting one, Sasuke fumbled it for a little, but eventually held it by the wire, looking at it strangely. Naruto laughed at the look on his face.

"No, you –"

_"NARUTO!"_ Tsunade called loudly from downstairs, her words echoing. _"KIBA IN THREE SECONDS!"_

Naruto's face broke into a bigger grin and he held up three fingers. When his last finger was down, Kiba suddenly burst through the door, taking in a large breath, and said, "Honey, I am free at _last!"_

"Not grounded anymore?" asked Naruto. "What made your parents let up?"

"I had Akamaru – what's he doing here?"

Kiba took notice of Sasuke. He glared intensely at the Uchiha, crossing his arms over his chest. Sasuke glared right back, the controller's wires still between his thumb and forefinger.

Naruto held up his cuffed hand as explanation.

"You've got to be _kidding_ me!" Kiba exclaimed, running over to the blond. "You mean it's _not_ just in school? He's going to be with you _everywhere?"_

"I'm sure we'll have loads of fun," Sasuke said in monotone.

"Quit it, Kiba," said Naruto, laughing good-naturedly. "I told you that he wasn't that bad."

"Did he tell you that himself? Does he _speak_ to you?"

"Sit down, Kiba. We'll play a three-player."

Kiba grumbled and plopped down on the nearest beanbag chair, taking hold of another controller. He raised an eyebrow at Sasuke, who was observing the controller, _still_ holding it by the wire.

"What's with him?" he asked, nudging Naruto.

Naruto stared at Sasuke and laughed once more.

"Sasuke," he said, catching the boy's attention. "_This_ is how you hold the controller." He held his out for further indication. Sasuke imitated him.

"He's _never_ held a controller before?"

Sasuke glared at him.

"With all the money you've got, you could buy a gaming _shop_, and yet you've never touched one?"

Sasuke continued to glare.

"Oh yeah, Naruto," Kiba continued dryly, pressing the controller buttons absently. "He's a real party-goer. I'm having the time of my life here."

Naruto waved Kiba off and explained the buttons to Sasuke.

"This button is for the brakes, this is to accelerate, this is to send out objects that you get from running over boxes . . ."

By the time Tsunade called the three boys down for dinner, saying that she had to leave, Sasuke had beaten Naruto and Kiba seven times, Naruto alone eight, and Kiba alone thirteen. Kiba huffed and sank further into his beanbag chair, looking once more at the screen: _Game Over._

"Are you _sure_ you've never touched a game before?" he asked the Uchiha.

Sasuke smirked. "The same could be said to you."

Kiba stuck his tongue out at him. Sasuke rolled his eyes. Naruto laughed, but his stomach grumbles broke the silence.

"After you, sir," Kiba joked, bowing to Naruto.

"No, no," said Naruto. "Ladies first."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kiba had gone home during a few more rounds of videogames after dinner, leaving Sasuke and Naruto to wait around for Kakashi to come pick them up. It was now eleven at night, and Sasuke and Naruto were sprawled across Naruto's bed, staring at the ceiling in bored manners.

"When is Kakashi coming?" whined Naruto. "I need to go to the _bathroom!"_

Sasuke smirked, realizing that throughout their entire ordeal, none of them had had to have gone to the bathroom in front of the other.

"Maybe he's doing this on purpose," said Sasuke. His eyes averted to the drawn curtains.

"I'll kill him."

_Ding dong!_

"Kakashi!"

Naruto sprung from the bed, momentarily forgetting that he was attached to another being. He jumped off of the mattress, realized too late that he was not alone, and jerked back from the force of the handcuffs.

"Come on, Sasuke!"

Sasuke mentally smirked, placed one hand behind his head, and said, "I don't _feel_ like it."

"Sasuke!" whined Naruto. He tugged on the chain of the handcuffs. "Come _on!"_

Sasuke pretended to think. "Nah," he concluded after a while.

Naruto moved to the other side of the bed where he proceeded to try and push the Uchiha off of the mattress. During his struggle, the door opened, and it wasn't Kakashi that walked in.

It was Itachi.

"Itachi!" Sasuke said, sitting up in surprise. Naruto, not expecting the lack of force, fell forwards onto the bed. "Where's Kakashi?"

"Too lazy to come himself," Itachi replied smoothly. "Hello again, Naruto."

Naruto looked up and stared into Itachi's eyes. "Uh . . . hi."

Itachi smirked, matching Sasuke's. "I've got the key, so there's no worry. I apologize for the time of the hour."

"It's no problem," said Naruto. "We've been entertaining ourselves."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. ". . . Right."

He glided to Sasuke and Naruto, revealing a silver key dangling from a bracelet he wore on his right hand. He unhooked it and unlocked the handcuffs.

"In the words of Kiba, I am free at last!" exclaimed Naruto, kissing his raw wrist. Sasuke stood to walk towards his brother.

"Nice day?" questioned Itachi.

"I'll tell you about it in the car," replied Sasuke, grabbing hold of Itachi's coat and pulling him from the room. "Uzumaki," he said simply as a means of goodbye.

"Uchiha."

Itachi was impressed. No snide, sarcastic remarks had been given. No insults. Not even a smirk. Perhaps Kakashi's therapy was _actually_ working for once.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Itachi woke up late again. Sasuke could tell. The younger Uchiha had awoken by an alarm to find a still-steaming, untouched cup of tea on the kitchen bar, but no brother. And he was sure it wasn't _his_ tea because Sasuke never drank . . . (he sniffed it) peppermint.

His brother's sudden strange actions on his mind, Sasuke did his daily ritual. With a cup of tea in his hands, he walked to the door and opened it, checking the little slot for mail on the side like he did everyday.

Like every normal day, he expected it to be empty.

But today wasn't a normal day.

Sasuke took the white letter inside, placing his tea back on the bar of the kitchen. There was no address or name on the front. Curious, he opened it to reveal a small letter inside.

There wasn't a need to read anything else in the letter. The first thing Sasuke's eyes saw in the small print of black text was a line of capitalized, bold, red letters.

_YOU WILL BE EVICTED._

Above that, he read:

_To Mrs. Uchiha Mikoto._

_You have failed to hand in the complete sum of the rent for the apartment. If you do not pay _**$500** _by the end of the month, YOU WILL BE EVICTED._

Sasuke stared at the letter for a moment, his lips turning softly into a frown, then into a grimace. Even with Itachi working day and night, it still wasn't enough. Even with all the trouble they were put through, someone out there wanted to torture them even more.

The letter was holy. It was their lifeline. Whatever they did didn't matter – staying in their house did. Sasuke's head hurt. He didn't want to think about this now. He didn't know what to do. And so, he folded the paper, pocketed it, and drank his scalding tea in four sips. Putting on his shoes and taking his bag, he headed out the door.

_"On the move."_

Sasuke turned around. He had heard a voice then.

But no one was there.

Shrugging it off as his mind's thinking, he continued to walk down the stairs of his apartment. The second peculiar moment happened on his walk to school.

The hills of grass were smooth, their shadows from the morning sun as flat as a large clay ball that had been pushed off one of Dubai's tallest buildings. Sasuke's shadow ruined it, though. His spiked hair, ruffled clothing, and backpack (which made his butt look as if it had grown twice its size) stood out sharply from the leveled figure of the hill.

But that wasn't the thing.

It was the fact that Sasuke was not alone in the shadows. Walking with his head down, he soon saw another shadow join his. This one was a burly figure, an obvious man with hair that was either nonexistent or slicked back. He wore a large coat with a collar so high, Sasuke couldn't see his jaw line.

Yet when Sasuke turned around, there was no one there.

He ran to school that morning.

Naruto felt the bewildered aura revolving around the Uchiha when the boy first entered. Kakashi wasn't there again. Sasuke didn't feel like gracing the blond with a greeting. He calmly, though detachedly, sat on his normal beanbag chair.

"Hey, Sasuke," said Naruto hesitantly.

Sasuke didn't reply.

Naruto didn't want to be cuffed to a more-silent-than-usual Uchiha. It wouldn't be good. When Kakashi entered, he tried to signal to the silver-haired man that Sasuke was acting strangely. Kakashi didn't need signaling. He _knew._

"What's got your undies tied in a knot?" Kakashi joked, searching for the cuffs on his jeans.

Sasuke glanced warily at Naruto, who stared back at him. He slipped the paper from his shirt pocket and handed it to Kakashi.

Kakashi unfolded the paper, read it over briefly, and gave no reaction other than an eyebrow movement. He stared back at Sasuke.

"You can't do anything about this," he said. "That's Itachi's job."

"Itachi's job isn't enough," replied Sasuke, his calm exterior melting away. "Working night and day isn't getting us anywhere."

"If you want, I could always loan you the –"

"No," Sasuke quickly interrupted. "Kakashi, thanks for the offer, but we don't need anyone's pity money."

Kakashi sighed, giving Sasuke the paper once more. "Sasuke, when will you start to realize that trying to help someone in need _isn't_ pity?"

"I don't care," retorted the Uchiha. "We can do this on our own."

Kakashi took out the cuffs and did the ritual of attaching the blond and brunette together. Naruto stared strangely at Sasuke, trying to decipher what the two males affront of him were talking about. He went to English with a frustrated Uchiha.

"Naruto."

Naruto turned around in his desk to stare at a boy with wild brown hair, tinted glasses, and a scarf that covered the bottom-most part of his face.

"Hey, Shino," replied Naruto. Sasuke, despite facing the board, listened.

"Are you still coming today? We are still meeting at five."

Sasuke could tell Naruto was smiling. "Heck yeah! Hinata would be glad to get out of the hospital! I just need to wait for Neji, head on over to the hospital, and pick her up."

Ms. Kurenai signaled for all students to quiet down and get to work on their next assignment: to write a short story about an influencing character, made up or not.

Sasuke wrote a story about a young boy. The boy was polite, rarely spoke to anyone that wasn't close to him, and talented at everything he tried. However, this boy was emotionless. He didn't show emotions on the outside, except for one or two rare occasions. The boy, nevertheless, wanted to show emotions, but didn't know how. And so, he took up the art of painting. He would paint everything from the skies to fields of green, to serenely-sleeping figures, to smiling children in the park.

The paintings were beautiful and realistic, and within them, all the emotions in the world would be shown. It would be straight from the heart of such an emotionless boy. Sasuke titled the story _Weasel_, and beneath it, he wrote: _based on a true story._

_---------------------------------------------------------------_

**[1] "Are you ready kids? Aye aye, captain!" etc. - **Spongebob. Fear him.

**[2] "This is a onetime thing." - **No, this story isn't going to be about how Naruto and Sasuke miraculously formed a band and got together through their love of music. They're just two teenagers who are utterly bored and with access to a room of noise. Do the math, people.

And I wanted to unleash my extensive knowledge of music. Sue me.


	9. Walking on Sunshine

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . the manga would have a better plot.

**Author's Note:** I'm tired. You're probably tired. Whose tired? I am. Haha. I'm rambling, aren't I?

Enjoy this chapter! There isn't much to say.

Please don't hurt me!

Oh yeah, and **Anonymous Reviews** are enabled. I figured "Why let the demon win and ruin everyone else's fun?"

And again . . . don't hurt me.

**Chapter 9  
**…**:::I'm Walking on Sunshine:::…  
****Katrina and the Waves**

**Warning (?): Sasuke is slightly OOC at the end of this chapter, with good reason to be.**

Kakashi told them that they'd be able to go back to Track the following week. Genma urged them to. The competition was coming up shortly and being the hosts, they had to win.

Sasuke spent most of the free time he received during Shop class working in the back on the project he'd started on. He and TenTen were amongst the few who had finished their class assignments early. The brunette female tried to kick up a conversation with the Uchiha as they worked in the back.

"Sakura tells me we'll be seeing you today," said TenTen, sanding the surface of what looked like a bow without its string.

Sasuke nodded his head without looking up.

Well, she _tried_ to get him to talk.

By the end of the day, Sasuke was deep in thought.

He and Naruto made sure to exit the school hidden within a large crowd of people. Naruto's driver was waiting outside with the Mercedes® Sasuke had seen before, greeting them cheerfully. Not needing anything from his house, Sasuke allowed them to head straight for the hospital, but not before a certain Hyuuga accompanied them on their journey.

Neji speechlessly got into the car without explanation, speaking only to greet the driver and Naruto. His eyes met with Sasuke's for a brief instant and the two boys nodded simultaneously, acknowledging each other.

"Hinata!"

It was the first thing Naruto said upon entering the room. He ran forwards, forcing Sasuke with him, and embraced the Hyuuga girl firmly in a hug. Neji looked like he wanted to glare, thought about it, and then decided against it.

Sasuke turned his head from where he stood to see his mother, sitting upright and smiling cheerfully at him. Before the Uchiha could say anything, a loud voice startled him inwardly.

"Brats!"

Naruto jumped at the sound of his grandmother. He turned around as if he had been caught dancing in his underwear publicly.

Tsunade was grinning maliciously, one hand holding a clipboard and the other behind her back. Her teeth glinted with the light of the hospital.

"Guess what I've got for you?"

"A one-way ticket to sanity?"

"Watch it, Uchiha. You're still my patient."

"A bowl of ramen?"

"I really question your genetic makeup, Naruto."

"A key?"

Tsunade turned to Neji, one of her eyebrows raising high. Hinata giggled. She sat atop her hospital bed, fully clothed and looking well.

"How did you know?"

Neji smirked and pointed to the glass window behind Tsunade, where her reflection clearly held a key in her hand. Tsunade grinned. "Well I'll be," she exclaimed. "Someone's got brains around here!"

"You're letting us go?" Naruto said incredulously.

"Just for today," warned Tsunade. "Kakashi says it's a gift from him because of Hinata's release."

She reached forwards to unlock the chain that held Sasuke and Naruto together. The first thing Naruto did was jump with joy. The first thing Sasuke did was walk to his mother. Tsunade was ordering Neji to sign release forms as she checked once more on Hinata.

"How's my undercooked French fry doing?" asked Mikoto, taking her son into a hug. "You're not injured! It's a miracle!"

Sasuke smirked. "Hello to you, too."

"All I get is a hello?" Mikoto pouted. "Fine! Be that way!" She turned her head away dramatically, crossing her arms.

"Fine. Hello, mother."

Mikoto grinned. "That's better." Sasuke rolled his eyes and sat down on his mother's bed, watching Naruto talk animatedly to Hinata as Neji scribbled onto a clipboard.

"How has life been treating you?"

_Shitty,_ Sasuke wanted to reply. He didn't want to tell his mother about the eviction notice just yet.

"Naruto came to our house. I went to his. Kakashi's torturing us. Kisame came back from vacation. Itachi keeps waking up late. I passed out a lot. Track is continuing next week. The same stupid gang is out to get me." After all of this, he turned to his mother with feigned brightness. "Life's been great! How about yours?"

Mikoto laughed, her voice melodic. Sasuke wanted to capture her image. He contemplated on whether or not to ask Itachi to paint her.

"I get released on Saturday!" she exclaimed cheerfully. "I'm so happy!"

_You have no idea._

"Is my lovely house destroyed?"

"Spotless."

"What about my other lovely son?"

Sasuke frowned. He knew Kakashi had spoken to Mikoto about what happened during the incident in the P.E. locker room a few days ago and wondered if the man had included anything about his brother. "I don't know," he whispered, his eyes now downcast. "He woke up late yesterday and this morning, and he's been giving off hints that he's overworking."

Mikoto frowned as well. "What kind of hints?"

"Forgetting food, wearing two different shoes – he's waking up _late._ You and I both know about his internal alarm clock."

"Three days, Sasuke," his mother replied. "Give me three days and everything will be okay.

Sasuke would later wish she hadn't said that.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke sat awkwardly in the cushy couches of the café, watching as everyone around him chatted animatedly as they awaited their orders. The café was large, with a pool table in one corner, a foosball machine next to the large television, and a lengthy ball where orders were served, taken, or sent.

Sasuke himself had ordered a small cup of tea. Just tea. He'd only brought three dollars. Naruto had ordered a large milkshake with three chocolate chip cookies on the side. Sakura had ordered a low-fat strawberry smoothie with a small slice of strawberry cheesecake. Neji had ordered . . .

If Sasuke calculated the entirety of their bill, with all the snacks and drinks they had gotten, he got a total amount of $136.75.

The waitress came around, grinning. The gang had expressed that they knew her, and knew her well. Temari, Sasuke heard was her name. Her blond hair was in four pigtails and her attire was casual. She came with the check in her hand.

"Nice going, kiddies," she said. "That'll be $136.75."

_Ha._

Each person paid separately. Sasuke paid his dollar for his tea that he had forced himself to drink.

"We need some entertainment, Uzumaki," said Sai, adjusting his belly shirt.

_Like there's anything to adjust._

"Yes, Naruto! Get on stage and sing with your youthful voice!"

"Hey!" Temari called from her position at the counter. "This had better be a free gig!"

Naruto stood up, grinning, his face turning red. He walked to the small stage to the right of the television set after his friends' cheers and adjusted the microphone. As if it was a routine, Naruto quickly found the guitar from behind the stage and sat on the centered stool, tuning it.

"Go Naruto!"

"Shake yo wanny fanny!"

There was sudden silence. Every head in the café turned to stare at Lee, who had uttered the bizarre statement. Lee looked around innocently.

"Is that not what you cool, hip kids are saying?"

Kiba shook his head in disbelief. "No, dude . . ."

Lee dramatically stared at the ceiling, crying out: "It is impossible to understand your groovy, new, hip lingo!"

Naruto's strumming filled the air suddenly and all eyes were re-averted to him. He grinned, flashing Hinata a smile. "This is in celebration of Hinata's fight over fibrosis."

Sasuke didn't really listen to the song. He didn't really listen to the soft chords and the quiet voice that spoke over the microphone. He was too busy thinking about his mother. His mother's illness eventually went over to Kimimaro, the boy he had only met for a maximum of five minutes, and he wondered what had happened to him.

Kimimaro's subject eventually led to the Sound 5. He hadn't seen them after the incident, but he was sure Tayuya was looking, especially after what he'd done.

He shivered.

"Are you okay?"

Sakura's eyes were on him, questioning him. Sasuke stared at her briefly before nodding his head, trying to listen to the music, but it had stopped. Naruto was now sitting on the couch.

_When did he . . .?_

He shook his head, trying to get his mind away from his thoughts, but they kept coming back by the boatloads.

The red letters of the eviction notice were embedded into his mind. They eventually led to Itachi's weary face, the steaming tea in the morning, then his brother's painting hobby, then his mother once more, and the entire cycle of subjects restarted its circle.

"Sasuke!"

He didn't rea­­­lize he was on the floor until he opened eyes he didn't know he had closed to stare at several pairs of expressions. Naruto was helping him sit upright.

"Maybe you should go home, Sasuke," said TenTen.

"Get some rest or something."

The only thought that went through the Uchiha's head as he was helped up was _'They're real.'_

Naruto offered to call his driver to bring Sasuke home, but the Uchiha shook his head, willing the double images of the blond to single out. He apologized (for what, he didn't know, but it seemed like the right thing to do) and was bid farewell and good luck on getting home.

Sasuke breathed in fresh air and tried to adjust his thoughts, staring around the town. His house wasn't as far away as he thought, he soon realized, upon coming to his apartment in a matter of minutes.

Someone bumped into him roughly. Not expecting it, Sasuke fell ungracefully to the floor.

"Whoops. Sorry, kid."

His obsidian eyes turned to see a familiar figure. It took the Uchiha a moment to recognize it: it was the shadow that had accompanied him on the hill, which he had thought to be a figment of his imagination.

The man outstretched a pale arm, his sharp eyes boring into Sasuke's. Sasuke took it in mannerism and brushed himself off. He was almost as tall as the man, whose white-blond hair was slicked back naturally.

"On your way, then."

And he left.

Just like that.

Sasuke turned around to glance at the man once more, becoming suspicious, but ignored his thoughts at the feeling of an upcoming headache.

His apartment was like a cheap cereal box. When opened, he'd get a surprise inside. A surprise it was, too. There were three people that occupied his living room. He was about to call authorities when he realized that one person was his brother, laid outstretched on their longest couch, his eyes closed.

But Sasuke knew he wasn't sleeping.

"Itachi!" he called, ignoring the other two figures momentarily.

"So this is the little one, yeah?"

"Tobi would think so."

Sasuke knelt beside his brother, looking him over. Nothing seemed to be wrong on the outside.

"Calm down, kid," said one of the figures. Sasuke's eyes swiftly turned to him, infuriated. The man – woman? – had long, blond hair that covered one eye and was poorly held together in a ponytail at the top of his head. His legs were crossed as he sat in one of the armchairs.

"What did you do to him?" Sasuke barked fiercely, his hands unconsciously grabbing Itachi's shirt. His eyes went to the other man and dubbed him to be some kind of burglar due to the bright orange mask he wore over his face.

"There he goes, accusing us, yeah. That's not very fair, is it, Tobi?"

"Tobi is a good boy," said the one with the mask, nodding his head firmly. **[1]**

"What happened?"

Sasuke wasn't about to let his guard down yet. There were fire kindlers in the fireplace and he wasn't afraid to use them.

"He passed out at the beginning of his shift at the bar, yeah," said the blond man. "I'll tell ya, that kid's been working his ass off ever since he came there. The boss wanted someone to bring him home, yeah, so we volunteered. We took his key, if you don't mind."

"How do I know I can trust you two?"

"Tobi and Deidara are good friends of Itachi," said Tobi. "Good, good friends. You can ask him when he wakes up."

"And just to show you how good we are, we'll leave."

The two of them stood up, walking to the door.

"And how do I know you didn't take anything?"

Sasuke still knelt beside his brother, examining their casual attire to see if there was a possibility of a hidden object.

"Touchy, aren't we?" said Deidara. He turned to walk out with a wave and the statement, "Ain't nothing in the apartment special enough to take, yeah."

Sasuke turned to his brother when he made sure the door had closed behind the two strange men. Itachi's breathing was light. His eyes were sunken, his skin was sallow, and Sasuke swore that now that he was close enough to realize, Itachi had dramatically lost weight.

_Who's the one in need of supervision now, Itachi?_

He left his brother on the couch and entered the kitchen. He'd make dinner for the two of them at last, so both of them could tend to their problems together.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Itachi woke with a start at nine, his eyes taking in his surrounding suddenly. Sasuke was playing a lonely game of chess at his side, two bowls of steaming noodles on the coffee table. Sasuke's attention had been drawn to him when he'd sat upright.

At the confused expression on his brother's face, Sasuke said, "Two men named Deidara and Tobi brought you here. I came home to find them in the house." He turned back to the chess board briefly. "Are they really your good friends?"

Itachi smirked. "Not as good as Kisame, but still good. They wouldn't do harm."

It eased Sasuke's heart slightly.

"You passed out."

"I know."

Itachi put his head in his hands, leaning forward so that his elbows rested on his knees. His chest heaved as he sighed. "I don't know why."

"Overexertion."

Itachi scoffed. "I do _not_ overexert myself."

It was Sasuke's turn to scoff. "Seventeen hours, Itachi. Seventeen hours of work. And it's still not enough."

Sasuke removed the folded paper from his pocket and tossed it to the now-alert Itachi. He caught it deftly and unfolded it.

"You've got to be _kidding_ me," he whispered in disbelief.

"We've got two weeks. Can you make it?"

Itachi nodded firmly. "Mother is coming back in four days, and she'll be back at work in a week. If I just keep my two jobs for another two –"

"No! No more double jobs! No more sleeping in, or forgetting things, or _not_ sleeping!" Sasuke interrupted, his voice louder than usual. Itachi stared at him. "Have you _looked_ at yourself? Do you honestly need a video of what's been happening to you in the past weeks? You say _I'm_ the one that needs supervision, but _you're_ the one as well! You look like something that's been dead for a while and you've lost too much weight to be healthy."

Itachi stared silently at Sasuke for a while before looking at his hands. His skin was almost as taut as Sasuke's was, and perhaps a little sallower.

"I'm only doing this so we can live, Sasuke," he replied.

"Then I don't want to live!" blurted Sasuke. His eyes widened when he realized what he had said and he clapped a hand to his mouth. Itachi's eyes darkened. "Wait, wait, I didn't mean it like that. It just came out."

"Why isn't Naruto with you? What have you been doing?"

"For Pete's sake, Itachi, I'm not suicidal."

"Where's Naruto?"

"Kakashi let us off the hook for the day because Hinata was getting out of the hospital."

Itachi stood abruptly, saying he had something important to take care of, and disappeared into his room, closing the door harshly. Sasuke stared at the peeling paint of the wooden door, then at the uneaten bowl of noodles.

He didn't feel so hungry anymore.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke knew Thursday would be a bad day. He had woken up several times during his sleep. The third time he'd awoken to notice that the sun still wasn't up, he saw the light of Itachi's room on. Wanting to investigate, Sasuke stood from his bed and walked into the hall.

Itachi's door was left ajar, light trickling out. Sasuke peaked through it by the slightest bit to gain a sight of his brother hunched over his desk, the light of his desk lamp the only thing illuminating the room. One of his hands was tangled in his hair, as if he was frustrated, and the other was furiously scribbling on a sheet of paper. His head moved back and forth between a large stack of paper and the one he was writing on.

"Itachi?" Sasuke called quietly. Itachi's head jerked at the noise. Realizing it was just his brother, he relaxed.

"What do you want, Sasuke?"

Sasuke opened the door wider and made to move forward, but Itachi held out his writing hand, signaling for his brother to stop.

"Go back to sleep."

"You should be asleep as well."

"I've got work to do."

"What kind of work?"

"Special work. Now go back to sleep, Sasuke."

He would have normally argued, Sasuke. He would have normally stormed into the room, demanding to see what Itachi was looking at, but he didn't. He was too tired. And so, he bid his brother goodnight and went back to sleep.

Or at least tried to.

Nevertheless, Sasuke was one cranky teenager when he woke up.

He hadn't gotten a lick of sleep; perhaps only fifteen minutes of it. The rest of the hours, he was fitful. He just _couldn't_ bring himself to sleep.

It didn't help that when he woke up, Itachi was asleep in his bed, the sheets tangled around his body and his hands limp in unusual positions. Knowing his brother would surely kill him, Sasuke closed the door to his room.

"Get some sleep, Itachi."

Breakfast was silent.

The walk to school was silent.

Kakashi's room was silent . . . for a while.

Kakashi himself was there early, reading through his email inbox. He looked up when Sasuke entered and whistled.

"_Some_body got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," he said, watching Sasuke collapse onto his usual beanbag chair. "Up all night partying?"

Sasuke grunted in reply. As usual, Kakashi wouldn't let him get away with it. The silver-haired man turned off his computer and sat affront of the weary Uchiha.

"Did you get into another argument with Naruto?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I left the party early because I wasn't feeling well," he explained quietly as he rubbed his eyes. "And Itachi was there with two other men, but he was unconscious. They said he fainted at work."

"That's quite the unusual sight," agreed Kakashi, rubbing his chin beneath his mask.

"When was the last time you saw Itachi?"

"A week ago."

"Visit him at work sometime or something and take a good look at him now."

Sasuke sat upright, trying to regain his composure lest someone strange walk it.

"Did he dye his hair blue or something?"

The Uchiha didn't appreciate the attempt at humor. He frowned. "He's becoming almost as unhealthy as I am. He's lost a lot of weight. And he stayed up all night working on something he wouldn't let me see. This morning, when I woke up, he was _still_ asleep, so I left him to get some rest and came here."

"Well, your mother's coming in two days to take care of everything, right?"

Sasuke nodded his head, unsure of what to say. The word _Goosnargh_ suddenly came to mind, but he chose to focus on more important thoughts. **[2]**

Naruto didn't come in. When the bell rang, Kakashi and Sasuke exchanged confused glances.

"Head off to class," said Kakashi. "I'll check the office."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow when most of Asuma's class was missing. Hinata wasn't there, nor was Shikamaru, or Kiba. Sakura _was_ present, but her head was resting on her desk as if she was fast asleep (which, Sasuke suspected, she probably was).

History and English had been rather empty as well, missing all of the students Sasuke had met at the café. Finally, in P.E., Sasuke met Neji . . . _Just_ Neji.

"You wouldn't happen to know where everyone is, would you," Sasuke said as he undressed, too tired to care if Neji stared at his leg.

The Hyuuga merely raised an eyebrow at Sasuke's speech. "They were up late last night at my house for a party," he said. "It ended at four in the morning with everyone asleep on my couches."

Sasuke nodded his head, taking in the information. He stared at his wrist, feeling naked. Having the cuff on it for a while and then suddenly not having it made him feel bare. He quickly put on his shirt and pants, switching his leg to its second mode, and left to the field.

Other than Gai's . . . bizarre movements and cries about how the youth was missing, Sasuke thought the day went rather blandly. There was no one to talk to but the girls that followed him around school, squealing and pointing and giggling and batting their fake eyelashes at him (to which he completely ignored).

He stayed after school in the woodshop room, having a light conversation as he worked on the project he had yet to finish. Kankuro worked on a puppet.

There were two unusual things when he got home:

One, there had been a tall, surly shadow following him the entire way, and when he looked, Sasuke saw no one.

Two, Itachi was still asleep.

Sasuke knew his brother hadn't awoken at all because he was still in the same position he had left him in. Worried, he quickly strolled into Itachi's room.

"Itachi."

No answer.

"Itachi, wake up."

No answer.

Sasuke shook his brother roughly, willing him to wake up. He felt his temperature, his heart rate, and even went so far as to smell his breath.

Nothing.

Itachi just would not wake up. Sasuke shook him harshly once more, but Itachi stayed in the same position, his mouth still slightly open, his eyes still shut loosely. In alarm, Sasuke reached for the phone to dial a familiar number.

_"Itachi?"_

"Tsunade, it's me."

_"Sasuke? You don't normally call my cell phone. If you're wondering where Naruto is –"_

"No, no, I know Naruto was absent. It's Itachi."

_"This has to be serious. It's my break time."_

"He isn't waking up." Sasuke stared at his brother once more, as if Itachi would suddenly spring awake and shout "Surprise!"

_"He didn't go to work?"_

"No, and I left him asleep, but he didn't wake up by the time I came home and I tried to wake him up but it's not working and –"

_"Calm down. I'll be right over to see for myself. I'll be there in ten minutes. Try getting him to wake up again."_

Sasuke said goodbye and went back to his brother's side, biting his lip out of nervousness. He shook his brother once more, just to make sure it wasn't some sort of twisted joke, but Itachi still did not move.

_At least he's breathing._

By the time Tsunade had come knocking on his door, he had tried wiping water on Itachi's face, screaming, and trying to make as much noise as he could.

Tsunade stood in the door, a serious expression on her face and a medical kit in her hands. Sasuke led her hurriedly to Itachi's room.

"Did you check his temperature? His breathing?"

"Yes and yes."

"Have you tried water?"

"Yes."

"Noises?"

"Yes."

"Calling his name?"

"Yes – wait, no. No."

Tsunade took out her stethoscope, raised Itachi's shirt, and listened to his breathing. "Calling someone's name is the easiest way to get them out of unconsciousness. How long has he been asleep?"

"I don't know what time he slept, but when I woke up, he was asleep, and when I came back, he was asleep. I stayed after school, so I came home at five or so."

"His breathing's in check." Tsunade took off her stethoscope. She leaned over Itachi's body to open his eyelids. "Has he shown strange patterns of sleep in the past few days?"

"He's been waking up later and staying awake later. And forgetting things."

"Is he still working for seventeen hours?"

Sasuke nodded.

"He's twenty years old, right?"

Nod.

"Itachi."

No reply.

"Go get some chamomile going for him while I try to wake him up, okay?"

Sasuke raised his eyebrow, but complied, leaving Tsunade repetitively saying, "Itachi, Itachi, Itachi, Itachi . . ."

He struck a match, lit the stove, and placed a kettle of boiling water on the metal, returning to his room immediately. Tsunade was smirking, still repeating Itachi's name.

As Sasuke watched, Itachi rolled over childishly. He gathered his knees to his chest and buried his head beneath a pillow.

"Itachi. Itachi. Itachi. Itachi."

Itachi grunted.

"Wake up."

Grunt.

"We're worried about you."

Itachi sluggishly removed his head from the pillow, sitting up with an expression of utmost confusion mixed with weariness. Sasuke thought it looked rather comic. His brother stared from Tsunade, to Sasuke, to Tsunade once more.

"What's going on?" asked Itachi, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Why are you here, Lady Tsunade?"

Tsunade smirked and patted Itachi's bed. "Sasuke called me."

"Sasuke? What time is it?"

"You slept for most of the day," replied Sasuke, sitting next to his brother on the bed. Itachi looked at him strangely.

"Why didn't you wake me up?"

"You wouldn't."

Tsunade gathered the attention to herself. "You've got a case of hypersomnia, Uchiha," she said. "It's the opposite of insomnia: sleeping for long periods of time, having trouble waking up, drowsiness in the middle of the day – I heard rumors you'd passed out yesterday."

Itachi rubbed a hand over his face.

"Is it caused by fatigue, by any chance?" Sasuke asked with a knowing smirk. Tsunade matched his expression.

"Prolonged fatigue, major symptoms of stress, overexertion, etcetera, etcetera. Itachi, you're twenty years old. In some areas, it's illegal to have you working for seventeen hours."

"Lady Tsunade, with the utmost respect, I can't allow you to do anything about this," replied Itachi. "All I need is medication to keep me awake."

Tsunade began writing down a prescription.

"You aren't going to do anything?" Sasuke said incredulously. "You're not going to force him to stop?"

Tsunade looked at him sadly. "You've got to realize, Sasuke, that your brother is doing this to help you."

"He should learn to help himself, first!"

"You _have_ lost some weight, Itachi, and you don't look healthy."

"Lady Tsunade, I assure you that when mother comes back, everything will be back to normal."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke was very depressed that Friday morning. He knew he should have been completely ecstatic. After all, his mother was coming home tomorrow.

But he wasn't.

Why?

The reason was simple:

He'd entered Itachi's room that morning.

No, Itachi was not present in the room again. Tsunade had prescribed him with medication and Sasuke had heard him uncharacteristically banging around and cursing in the morning, trying to hastily make it out of the house and to work on time.

Sasuke had ventured into the room when he was completely ready, trying to investigate what his brother had stayed up several nights to do. Whatever it was, it was stashed in his brother's desk.

To his surprise, the desk drawer was unlocked.

To an even greater surprise, it was filled with a small stack of papers and envelopes. Sasuke took the first one and read it.

It was an electric bill.

_You are currently behind your payment by _**$50**_ and will have your electricity cut off by the end of the month if it is not paid._

The second envelope was the water bill.

The third was another eviction notice

The fourth was – surprise, surprise – another bill.

And another.

And another.

_You owe . . ._

_You have missed out on the full payment of . . ._

_Miss, you are not unaware that you owe . . ._

_You will be __**cut off**__ . . ._

_. . . Will be __**shut off **__. . ._

_. . . If failure to meet these standards . . ._

Sasuke's eyes trailed down each of the words, unconsciously calculating. Had his brother been staying up all night to try and figure out how he would pay such bills? Were they really _that_ far behind on their payments?

And so, Sasuke went to school that day utterly depressed and not in the mood to speak, lest he snap at someone.

He snapped at Naruto a lot that day.

He didn't talk to Kakashi.

He didn't talk to _anyone_ but himself.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Saturday, Itachi had purposely taken a day off of work, explaining the circumstances. Kisame came for a visit in the morning, saying he missed Sasuke greatly because he hadn't been able to have some "Uchiha humor". The three males sat around the living room, cups of tea and snacks in their hands, behaving as if nothing had ever happened.

Sasuke was jittery. He could not stay still. As he held his cup of tea his leg shook fiercely, spilling the burning liquid onto it, but he didn't care. He only cared about one thing:

His mother.

"Whoa, did you eat too much sugar, kiddo?"

Kisame laughed good-naturedly, knowing Sasuke despised sweets of any sort. Itachi even smirked, sipping his peppermint tea. His eyes were still sunken, his skin still sallow and taut, but his personality had not perished.

A few minutes later, Sasuke stood up.

"I'm going to the hospital."

"Now?"

Sasuke nodded, hopping from one foot to the other, trying anything to sustain his sudden act of hyperactivity. Kisame simply laughed and placed his tea on the coffee table. "I'm driving!" he exclaimed.

Itachi was forced to come with them.

Kisame's car was a blue Chevrolet® parked in the front of the apartment. Sasuke almost tore the door handle off of the car as he seated himself in the back, looking comically manic. Kisame and Itachi purposely took their time, stopping to tie their shoes, to brush dust off of each others' shoulders, and to comment about how the "sky looked absolutely dashing, don't you think, ol' chap?"

"Get your asses in here!" Sasuke yelled at them.

"Look, Kisame! Isn't that a lovely cloud? It's shaped like a duck's behind!"

"Don't you mean Sasuke's hair?"

Sasuke had to get out of the car, drag them one-by-one into their seats, and threaten Kisame that if he didn't drive, he'd start a protest against veggie burgers. Kisame yelped and drove with the speed of a vegetarian on crack – which described him with 99.9 percent of accuracy.

As Itachi and Kisame dallied purposely by the car, Sasuke ran through the hospital doors, screaming at them when they wouldn't slide quickly enough.

"Mom?" was all he said to a startled Shizune.

The brunette woman laughed and pointed down the hallway, telling him that she hadn't been moved. Sasuke dashed in the direction she'd pointed out, managing a quick thank you.

He didn't have time even stare around the room. Someone was already hugging him tightly, bouncing him up and down.

"Sasuke!"

It was Mikoto. She let go of her son briefly, staring into his eyes. She had grown healthier. So healthy, in fact, that she didn't seem to be able to stop bouncing around, her eyes wide with delight, like a little girl who had been given a large bag of sweets.

"I'm _leaving!"_ she exclaimed, shouting it to the skies. No one else occupied the room. "I'm leaving, I'm leaving, I'm _leaving!"_

Sasuke definitely wanted to ask his brother to paint the scene: his mother, jumping as high as her hospital gown would allow her, her hair flying around her beaming face.

Speaking of Itachi, he and Kisame entered the door. Kisame ran to Mikoto and embraced her mid-waist.

"Miki!"

"Kissy-face!"

"Why are we yelling everything?"

"I don't know, but it's fun!"

Sasuke laughed – actually _laughed_ at the sight affront of him. He actually let his vocal chords give out a melodic, dark jingle at the sight of Kisame lifting his mother high into the air, the two of them bouncing up and down.

"Put down my mother, Kisame."

"Itachi!"

Mikoto squealed, making Sasuke shudder at the sudden reminder of his fan girls, as she saw her other son. Kisame let her down and before her feet even touched the ground, she had flung herself at Itachi.

After a powerful embrace, Mikoto slapped Itachi lightly on the arm and pouted. "You didn't come to visit me a lot. And you look almost as worse as Sasuke!"

"Forgive me, mother. I have been working."

"Well you don't have to work anymore! Uchiha Mikoto is coming back!"

"I could hear you from all the way across the hall!"

Tsunade entered with her as-always dramatic entrance, smirking at the radiating aura and smiles she received from everyone. Naruto was right behind him, a smile of his own plastered and shining.

"My favorite ramen-lover!"

Mikoto embraced Naruto as well, as if she wanted to keep the chain going. Naruto raised an eyebrow and stared at Sasuke for an explanation. Sasuke smirked and shook his head.

"I'm leaving! I'm leaving, leaving, _leaving!"_

"While you leave, I get my shots," Naruto grumbled when he'd been released from the embrace. Tsunade laughed heartily and clapped Naruto heavily on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, brat!" she said. "They won't hurt _that_ much."

Naruto gulped and turned several shades of white.

"Ah, afraid of needles, are we?" said Mikoto. "Sasuke used to be like that, too. Our old doctor had to tie him down to the hospital bed and –"

"_So!"_ Sasuke interrupted loudly. Had he been anyone else, he would have laughed nervously, but he simply nudged his mother. "When is she allowed to come home?"

"As soon as I give her a couple shots and another evaluation," said Tsunade. "Come on, Miki. You and Naruto can get your shots at the same time."

Mikoto laughed merrily, taking a nervous Naruto by the hand and leading him to an empty bed in the room. She told him not to worry. They really didn't hurt. Kisame, Itachi, and Sasuke sat on provided chairs, waiting patiently (with the exception of a leg-shaking Uchiha) for Tsunade to ready her needles.

"I'll go first, okay, Naruto?" said Mikoto, pointing to herself for emphasis. "I'll show you that it won't hurt at all."

Naruto smiled sheepishly, quietly thanking her. He turned to Sasuke and beamed, his eyes telling the Uchiha how much he appreciated his mother.

Tsunade readied the needle, telling Mikoto that it would protect her from any serious malarial infections. She rubbed the alcohol on the crook of Mikoto's elbow and slid the needle inside, emptying the syringe.

"See, Naruto?" said Mikoto, smiling. "There's nothing to –"

She stopped mid-sentence, her eyes turning wide.

"Mom?" said Sasuke, wondering what was wrong. "Are you oka –?"

Mikoto's chest suddenly convulsed wildly, her body falling back to topple onto the bed. The remaining occupants of the room gave exclamations in unison, all of them trying to come to her aid. Naruto, stark white, only stared in horror.

"Mom, hey!" said Sasuke, at the same time his brother said, "Mother, what is it?"

"Get the nurses in here _now!"_ Tsunade screamed, trying to calm Mikoto's body. Kisame ran from the scene. In a matter of seconds, there was a team of doctors and nurses flooding the room, bringing with them a heart monitor and a machine Sasuke recognized, but never really knew the name of.

"She's having an allergic reaction," he heard Tsunade say. "Put the clip on her."

Sasuke's eyes were wide, his body unmoving like Naruto's. He watched as several pairs of hands, including Itachi's, held his flailing mother down to the bed, ushering Naruto off. A heart monitor was suddenly giving off her rapid heartbeats – too rapid to be humanely possible.

"Kisame, get them out of here," demanded Itachi, staring at his best friend and then at the immobile teenagers.

"We're losing her!"

"Get the shocks!"

Kisame was trying to tug on Sasuke's arm, but Sasuke wrenched it from his gasp.

"Sasuke, come on. We need to leave them be."

"One, two, three!"

Sasuke could only stare at his mother, only stare as she withered away before his very eyes, her once jovial, bright, beaming expression turned to nothing but an unresponsive pair of eyes and a mouth open in mid-sentence.

"Sasuke, come _on!"_

"Mom . . ." the Uchiha whispered, wrenching his hand from Kisame's grasp once more. "Mom, no."

"We're losing her! We're losing her, damn it!"

"No, no, no."

Naruto had snapped from his frozen stupor to stare between the team of doctors and Sasuke.

"One, two, three!"

A flat-line. It rang high above the frantic shouts, blaring and cutting lethally into Sasuke's mind.

"No, not her! Anyone but her!"

"Mother!"

Sasuke could only watch in horror.

"One, two, three!"

Could only watch in horror.

_Beep! Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep!_

Only watch in horror.

"One, two, three!"

Watch in horror.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

"She's okay, right?"

His voice seemed loud. _Too_ loud. All eyes were suddenly on him. He only cared about two: Tsunade's and Itachi's. Itachi's eyes were gloomy. Tsunade's eyes didn't meet his.

"Right?"

"Ready a separate room with life support," Tsunade whispered to the team of doctors before ordering them to scatter. The room was deadly silent afterwards. Nothing but the beep of Mikoto's heart monitor cut through the thick tension. "Sasuke, you have to understand."

"She's going to be just fine, right?"

He was walking towards her now, one hand touching her cheek. It felt cold.

"Why does she feel cold? Her heart is beating."

"Sasuke."

His eyes showed danger. "She's going to be just fine, _right?"_

"She's comatose."

Sasuke shook his head. "No she's not. She was just here a minute ago."

Itachi shot a glance towards Tsunade, silently telling her to choose her words wisely. Tsunade nodded.

"She had an allergic reaction to the shot administered into her blood stream and had it not been for us, she would have –" **[3]**

"Why didn't you check?!"

Sasuke screamed this, his face flushing, knowing the final word of the sentence she had been about to utter.

_Died._

_She would have died._

_Died._

_And it's your fault._

_But I don't want the blame._

"Why didn't you make sure she wasn't allergic to it?!"

"Calm down, Sasuke," warned Itachi in a harsh whisper. Naruto noticed that the older Uchiha held his mother's hand in his own.

"There was no way to know –"

"You liar!"

Sasuke strode to Tsunade and moved to grab the front of her shirt, but Kisame held him back. Sasuke still struggled. "Liar! You could have checked! You could have known! It's all your fault!"

_It's your fault._

_It's your fault, Sasuke._

Tsunade pursed her lips, trying her best not to scream.

"What's going to happen to her now? When is she going to wake up?!"

"For your information, Uchiha, if she stays at this hospital, she has a _minimal_ chance of getting out of her coma, do you understand?!" Tsunade snapped at him. "It was a _miracle_ we kept her alive if you want to know the truth!"

"Don't _lie_ to me!"

"Wake up and face the facts, Uchiha!"

Sasuke felt warm tears prick his eyes, struggling weakly to escape the hold Kisame had on him.

"Make her wake up! Make her come home! We _need_ her!" he all but begged.

"You need to send her to England," said Tsunade. "Our equipment here isn't enough to take care of a patient like her. She needs the _best_ of the _best_, do you understand me? It's that or her life." **[4]**

"Lady Tsunade –"

Itachi was hushed the second Tsunade held up her hand. Her honey eyes continued to bore into Sasuke's.

"It's _you_ who doesn't understand!" screamed Sasuke. His struggles became wilder. Naruto had to step in from the front, pressing his hands against Sasuke's chest, feeling tears drip onto his bare arms from Sasuke's eyes. "You don't know how much we _suffered!_ You don't know how much we've sacrificed! You don't know how much it's _killing_ us!"

"How much is it to send her to England?" asked Itachi, his voice sounding strained, but trying his best to keep hold of his mother's hand. The only sign that showed he was anywhere near breaking was the death-like grip he held his mother's hand in.

Tsunade sighed, turning to the calmer of the brothers, and ran a hand through her hair. "Six thousand for the trip and treatment."

Sasuke's desperate eyes turned to his brother. "Itachi, how much money do we have?"

Itachi stared at him. He didn't want to answer. His brother's eyes were hopeful. He didn't want to lose their hope. But Sasuke pressed the answer again and this time, it was Naruto whose eyes began to tear.

"How _much_, Itachi?"

Itachi looked at him with sad eyes.

"Not a lot."

Those simple words sent Sasuke into a maddened frenzy. He desperately struggled to reach his mother, tears streaming down his face. In the end, the only thing he could do was fall to his knees, his face contorted in an expression of agony.

"It isn't fair," he said. "I'm losing _everything_ and it's all because I'm worthless."

Itachi's eyebrows shot up.

"Sasuke, you –"

"Don't feed me any bullshit, Itachi!" Sasuke yelled, his eyes fierce and manic. "I know why father died! I know why he committed suicide!"

It was Naruto's turn to raise his eyebrows in shock, his eyes red and puffed. He didn't know Uchiha Fugaku committed suicide. It was never on the news.

"It's because I was _worthless!_ It's because I couldn't live up to the Uchiha legacy and he was so ashamed!"

"Sasuke, it's because –"

But it seemed that everyone wanted to interrupt Itachi at that moment. Sasuke ignored him, turning to Tsunade.

"I'll sell anything," he said, desperate. "I'll give you my blood. I'll sell my prosthesis! I'll sell my _arm_, I don't _care_ anymore! Just give me back my mother!"

Tsunade stared at the still form of Mikoto, tears prickling at her own eyes, but she didn't allow them to show. To make them visible would mean showing her grandchild weakness, and then where would his hope be?

"I can't do that, Sasuke," she finished sadly.

"I'll sell you _everything!"_

Sasuke sunk completely to the floor, belly-down, and buried his face in his arms as he wept against the cool tile.

"Mom," he cried like a child lost in the city. "Mom, come back. Please. _Please._ We need you. _I _need you!"

"Come on, Sasuke," urged Kisame. "Let's send you home."

"I want to stay with her!" Sasuke retorted, swiping at Kisame's hand. "If she's going to die, then I'm going to die with her!"

"Sasuke!"

Itachi had said it in a surprised whisper. He let go of his mother's hand to rush to his brother's side, forcing Sasuke's head in his direction and his eyes into his.

"Don't say that!" he demanded. "Don't you _dare_ think about it!"

"But Itachi –"

"I'm not going to lose you like we almost did, do you understand me?"

Sasuke stared up at his brother with glossy eyes, realizing the full extent of the agony Itachi had been put through during Sasuke's coma. But what of _his_ agony?

_Stop being selfish._

_It's your fault. You deserve the agony._

Sasuke didn't know what to do. He didn't know where he would go anymore. He didn't want to think about money, or think about doctors, or hospitals, or bills, or –

"The money," Sasuke whispered. "I'm not letting you go back to work like that, Itachi. No way."

"Don't think about that."

"It's all I think about now! All I think about is money, Itachi!" Sasuke's eyes were wide again and beginning to shine once more. "I thought that being poor would be better than being rich, because I thought we didn't have to worry about money, but it's just as worse!"

"Sasuke, you really need your rest."

"No!" Sasuke wrenched from his brother's gasp and stood up on wobbling knees. He pointed accusingly to Tsunade. "Whenever I came to you and Kakashi, you always told me that things would be better today! That after today, I wouldn't have to worry anymore because mom would make it all better! Now look where she is! How is she supposed to make everything better? She's as good as dead!"

"Sasuke!"

"Shut up!" he screamed at Tsunade. There were no gasps. There were only looks of sadness that no one wanted to show. "Shut _up!_ It's _your_ fault she's dying! I _hate_ you! _I hate you!"_

And he lunged forward so quickly, no one had the time to stop him. Tsunade, however, saw it coming. She knew of his temper and so when he came forward, tears in his eyes, his mouth contorted into a snarl, and his hands ready to strike, she swiftly countered.

In a second, she had Sasuke on the ground, his hands behind his back and a syringe being emptied into his veins. She leaned forward into his ear so that only he could hear her.

"Your brother doesn't need this right now."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] "Tobi is a good boy . . ."** **- **I don't know why, but Tobi speaks in third person.  
**[2] _Goosnargh_ - **Copyright of Douglas Adam's _Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy_ series. Ford Prefect uses this word. It is a word that people say when they can't think of anything to say at that precise moment. Hm . . .  
**[3] Mikoto's allergic reaction - **Sorry to ruin the moment with a note. The allergic reaction case is real. It happened to my math teacher's brother when he was injected with a shot that he was allergic to.  
**[4] England - **Let's let our imaginations run wild, shall we? England is possible to get to in this story.

I know! You people hate me! Woohoo!


	10. Real Emotion

**Disclaimer: **If I wonder Naruto, I wouldn't have to deal with 's crap.

**Author's Note:** S.O.R.R.Y.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope most of you noticed that Fanfiction has been having a screwing session with the Login page over the past few days and it kept me from updating on Sunday AND Monday! And for that, I am seriously, seriously, seriously sorry that I couldn't keep my promise. Sunday, I waited until 2 in the morning to try and update because it told me:

"Login/submission area is currently inaccessible due to a technical glitch. We apologize for the brief inconvenience. Please come back in **a few minutes."**

So I waited, but I had to go to sleep because I had school the next day. Monday was a repeat. And today, it is 1:39am while I write this. I have school tomorrow, and I still need to study for a major test tonight, but I wanted to update as _soon_ as I had the chance! So I love you guys more than my Bio test.

*******On more important matters: the story. **Sasuke's going to do something. And before you stop reading and deem me the "average author" and that I should never resort to cliches, KEEP reading, understand? Because if there's one thing you've learned, it's that I defy the laws of cliche.**

***The moment between Sasuke and Naruto was bound to happen sooner or later. But this does **NOT** mean they're about to go skipping down memory lane hand-in-hand and start telling each other their feelings. Normal authors may think life works that way, but i know it doesn't.

**Chapter 10  
**…**:::Real Emotion:::…  
****Sweetbox**

**WARNING: (Please read author's note first) Language. Mild sexual innuendo. Adult concepts including mention of alcohol usage.  
This chapter is VERY IMPORTANT to understand. Please read the bottom note when done.**

**Do you think this chapter is bad enough to get the rating raised to M?**

The feeling of the bed he was on was familiar.

The feeling of the tightening in his chest was familiar.

The ropes limiting his movement?

Yeah, they were familiar, too.

Sasuke opened his eyes to see the yellow ceiling of Naruto's room. The lights were off, painting it a dark goldenrod, and the sky from the drawn-back curtains reflected the time of day: somewhere well into the night. He wasn't alone in the room.

Itachi was on the bed where Sasuke's legs didn't reach, his closed eyes and slow breathing signs that he was deeply asleep. His body was curved to fit the mattress.

Sasuke tried to wiggle his arms from the rope, vaguely wondering why he was attached to the bed so tightly, but it was too strong for his malnourished body. He grimaced.

It was a while before Sasuke heard the doorknob of Naruto's room slowly turn. The door didn't creak as it was swung to reveal Naruto, quietly tiptoeing into the room. Sasuke closed his eyes and tried to regain his sleeping composure as the blond came close.

Peeking as best as he could through closed eyelids, Sasuke saw Naruto take the bundle from his hand (which turned out to be a large orange comforter) and drape it over Itachi's curled figure. He then sat in his rotating chair next to the bed.

"Hey, Sasuke."

Surprised, Sasuke opened his eyes.

"How did you know?"

Naruto sighed and sat back in his chair. "Your breathing pattern was different. I know what it's like to try and pretend to be asleep."

Sasuke reminded himself that the ropes were still around his body when he couldn't sit upright. He was forced to stare at Naruto from where he lay.

"Granny told me to come and wake you and Itachi up before she and Kakashi come in," continued Naruto, staring at Itachi. A frown came to his face. "But I don't want to wake him up. He looks like he hasn't had sleep for a while."

Sasuke stared at his brother and frowned as well. "What happened after . . .?"

His throat tightened. He didn't continue in fear that tears would begin to fall once more and so he simply stared at Naruto, his eyes asking him instead. Naruto got the hint.

"Not a lot, really. Kakashi and Kisame just brought you and Itachi here right away."

Sasuke nodded absentmindedly, his fists clenching beneath the ropes. "What about . . .?"

And once again, he couldn't continue. He turned his head away from Naruto for a few seconds as he felt his eyes sting, the memories flooding back. Still turned away, he managed to croak, "Mom?"

Naruto's eyes fell. "I'm sorry to tell you, Sasuke, but . . ."

Sasuke braced himself, his knuckles turning white.

"Your mother . . . she . . . she's in England!"

Naruto exclaimed the last part, his head jerking up to reveal the bright smile on his face. He looked at Sasuke expectantly, waiting for it to click in the Uchiha's mind. When it did, his eyes widened and he tried to jerk forward.

_"What?!"_

"Your mother!" Naruto exclaimed again. "We sent her to England!"

"No way! _How?!_ Itachi couldn't have used our money! It isn't enough!"

"Itachi didn't pay for it." Naruto pointed proudly to his chest, grinning. "I did."

A sudden mixture of emotions swept over Sasuke: relief, joy, depression, more relief, more joy . . . but the one that won over them all was anger. His face contorted into an expression of rage.

"So it was pity money?"

He heard someone behind the door sigh and mumble, "I knew he'd take it that way."

Naruto's smile faltered and his hand fell.

"So you felt sorry, is that it? You felt sorry for a mental case like me so you decided to pay?"

It was Naruto's turn to snarl. "What the hell do you think you're saying?" he said. "You should be thankful! Did you _want_ your mother to die?"

"Do you realize that I'll _never_ be able to pay you back?!"

"It was a _gift,_ Uchiha!" Naruto stood over Sasuke now, staring down at him fiercely. "I saw your brother go into a stress-caused _fit_ and it took Kakashi, Kisame, _and_ Granny to calm him down! I was crying so hard because I loved your mother, too, and because I saw what you were going through, and even if I _didn't _know you, I would've paid for her! Yes_,_ I feel sorry for you, but that _doesn't_ meanwhat I did was a bad thing!"

"It's _pity!"_

"It's _friendship!"_

Sasuke silenced at the word. Naruto's fingernails were digging into his shoulders painfully.

"Friendship?" he repeated, as if the word was foreign on his tongue. He repeated it again with more venom. "Friendship?"

"Yes, Uchiha, we're _friends._ _Friends!_ Do you understand the meaning of the word? And no matter how much you deny it, we _are!"_

Sasuke stared at him in complete and utter silence. Naruto's face was so close to his, he could see the brownish, genuine whisker-like marks on his cheeks; he could smell his mint breath.

"You're just too stubborn to realize what's going on around you!" the blond continued with vigor. "We jumped at each other's throats from day one 'till it got so normal, it was weird if we didn't argue. And be_cause_ it got normal, we connected. _Bonded_, Sasuke. Friendship." Taking advantage of Sasuke's sustained silence, he continued. "You told me you didn't have any friends before you came here because they were all afraid of you. But I'm real. And I'm going to tell you what a friend does, and you'd better listen good."

Sasuke didn't object.

"When a friend gives their friend something, it is _not_ out of pity. It's because he _cares_ about his friend. It's because he wants to _help,_ because a friend is like a brother or a sister. They're there when you need them – even if you don't want them to be! Do you understand, Uchiha?"

Sasuke stared for a while, arguing between whether or not to chide Naruto for speaking down to him. But he decided against it. He narrowed his eyes and nodded his head reluctantly.

"Good."

And Naruto was hugging him.

Had Sasuke's arms been free, they would have frozen. He had never been hugged affectionately by anyone but his mother, Itachi, and Kakashi before. To be hugged by Naruto felt strange. Foreign. Cheesy, cliché, and damned wrong, even.

"And friends," Naruto finished, "know when their friend desperately needs a hug."

Sasuke stayed silent, not really wanting a hug, and desperately wishing for the awkward moment to pass, but not minding the warmth it brought.

He swore he saw Itachi smile.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke woke alone in his own room, the sky brightly casting light into the area. His prosthetic leg was in its charger. There was something strange about the charger, however.

It wasn't on.

Sasuke checked that it was plugged in, and when he made sure – _twice –_, he properly fixed his leg into place and wandered outside to try on the rest of the lights.

When the kitchen lights didn't turn on, when the digital alarm clock didn't ring, and when the practically-empty refrigerator was dark and damp, he concluded what he knew was inevitable:

The electric company cut their supply.

Sighing, he sat down in the living room to play a solo game of chess. Itachi was at work.

But not for long.

It was four o'clock in the afternoon when the door suddenly banged open. Having sat in silence, Sasuke jumped at the unexpected noise from his position on the couch.

"Itachi?"

But his brother was already running to his room. Kakashi and Kisame appeared at the door suddenly, their breaths quickened and their hair ruffled. They ran in after Itachi.

_What the . . .?_

"Damn it!"

Something loudly crashed against a wall. Sasuke's eyes opened wide in alarm.

"Itachi, please!"

"Just calm down and we can work this out!"

Without a second thought, he jolted from the couch and ran to his brother's room. He stood at the doorway, his eyes wide.

Itachi, Kisame, and Kakashi had their backs turned to him, except Kisame and Kakashi stood over his brother's fallen form, which was on his hands and knees. Paintings were scattered around the room: broken canvases of flowers, of smiling faces, of sun shining down on fields, with blood staining their wooden frames. Itachi lay amidst it all, breathing harshly.

"Not anymore, Kakashi!" Itachi said harshly, his voice sounding strangled. "It's too much pressure! It's too much to handle!"

He knelt forward even more so that his elbows touched the carpet as his fingers wound through his silky tresses and he let out a frustrated growl.

"Itachi, come on. Let's get you cleaned up and then we'll talk this out, okay? You've still got another day to think about it," pleaded Kisame, trying to reach over to his friend.

"There's nothing _to_ think about!" retorted Itachi. "We're going to lose everything because nothing I do is _working_! They've already cut the electricity off on us, and it shouldn't be too long before the water company does the same!"

"Just get up and out of this room. You're bleeding."

"I don't care. I need to think of a way to get the money for the mortgage. I'll take up another job in the five hours it takes to sleep. Another job, and maybe I'll walk to work, and –"

"Can you _hear_ yourself?" said Kakashi.

"The bills, and the hospital, and the money, and food, and electricity, and the _eviction_ notice, and –"

Itachi suddenly made a choking noise and went silent. Sasuke, from his view, saw his body collapse to the floor with a soft _thud_.

"Itachi!"

Kisame and Kakashi turned around when they realized they weren't the only ones that had exclaimed it. A panicked Sasuke rushed past them to his fallen brother.

Itachi's pale skin was turning bluish. His fingers were twitching uncontrollably as his breaths came out short and quick. Wide obsidian eyes looked into Sasuke's.

"What's going on?!" Sasuke exclaimed, falling to his brother's side in alarm. "What's happening?"

"Itachi, calm down," said the silver-haired man. He, himself, was trying to remain calm. Kisame's shouting wasn't helping. "Breathe. Can you breathe?"

Itachi managed to shake his head, closing his eyes as he tried to gulp down air, but it didn't work. His twitching fingers were gradually growing bluer.

"Kakashi!"

He couldn't lose anymore. No way. He desperately turned to Kakashi, his eyes clearly showing the fear they held.

Kakashi swiftly picked Itachi up in his arms, struggling slightly with the grown man, but adrenaline got him through the door. Kisame and Sasuke followed into the darkness, making sure to close the door behind them.

"I'll drive," ordered Kisame when they got off of the elevator. "You stay in the back with him and try to get his breathing regulated."

Kakashi put Itachi in the car so that he lay on the full length of the couch, ordering Sasuke to sit in the leg area behind Kisame as he himself sat in the other leg area.

"Itachi, try and breathe, okay? Can you do that for me?"

All Itachi replied with was more hyperventilation. Sasuke held his hands, noting the dangerous bluish tinge and immobility. For the first time, he noticed the blood that trailed down his brother's hands and fingertips, splinters showing through. He bit his lip.

Kisame drove with such speed that Sasuke saw nothing but blurs on the outside of the window. Despite how desperately Kakashi told Itachi to stay with them, to keep his eyes open a little longer, the Uchiha went into unconsciousness with his chest still heaving violently.

"I was called down to pick him up," explained Kisame as he drove. "They told me he was acting strangely. When I got there, he was having a panic attack sort'a like the ones you get, so I called Kakashi over."

"Kakashi, what's going to happen to him?" asked Sasuke, staring worriedly at his brother.

"We just need to get him some oxygen. He isn't allowing himself enough."

"Is he going to die?"

There was silence in the car for a while. Kakashi averted his eyes from Itachi to Sasuke. His tense expression softened and he smiled sadly from beneath his mask.

"No," he said quietly. "He's not going to die."

They rushed inside of the hospital where Shizune greeted them with frightened eyes. She ushered them into a room filled with beds surrounded by curtains and told them to place Itachi on one of them as she called for Tsunade.

Sasuke sat thinking in one of the chairs affront of Itachi's bed as Kakashi and Kisame quietly talked things over. Tsunade came rushing inside and began taking action. She ordered Shizune, who had followed her, to place an oxygen mask on Itachi's face as she turned on the tank.

"It's called cyanosis," Tsunade managed to explain as she felt the Uchiha's pulse. "It's a stress-related hypoventilation attack. It's not a large emergency as soon as we get his lungs pumping." Her serious expression melted and she beckoned Sasuke over. "See? He's breathing correctly." **[1]**

Kakashi stared at Sasuke when the Uchiha made no movement to get up and instead looked at his orange shoelaces. He frowned, wondering about Sasuke's inner thoughts.

"Sasuke, why don't you come stay at my house for a while, huh?" asked Kakashi, outstretching his arm. "Itachi needs to stay overnight for a checkup and I don't think it'll be much fun when you're alone."

Sasuke shook his head. "I want to go home," he whispered, his eyes still downcast.

"I really wish you would come with me, Sasuke, or maybe Kisame could stay over –"

"I want to go home. _Alone."_

Kakashi sighed and rubbed his face with one hand. "Fine," he said, defeated.

"I'll drive him home," said Kisame. "Take good care of Itachi, Lady Tsunade." He ushered Sasuke out the door. When he made sure the Uchiha was out of earshot, he stuck his head back inside of the room and whispered, "He's all the kid's got."

Kisame drove Sasuke home and allowed him to leave, but not before telling the Uchiha not to do anything brash. He, too, was worried about what a mentally unstable Uchiha would do when left alone in the dark.

Sasuke didn't do much, really.

He trained.

He ate.

He slept.

Correction: he _tried_ to sleep.

There were too many thoughts crowding his mind to allow his eyes to close, even with the chamomile tea he concocted. A candle was his only source of light as he sat in the darkness of his room, staring at the ceiling. It lit the room in an eerie, ominous glow.

_Everything is your fault, Uchiha._

"Everything is my fault," repeated Sasuke in monotone.

_The lights are out . . . that's your fault._

Sasuke took time to ponder on what the voice in his head said. Technically, it _was_ his fault the lights were out. It was a chain reaction:

It was his fault his father died . . .

_If I wasn't so worthless._

. . . Which made them lose their money and his leg . . .

_We wouldn't be poor._

_. . ._ Which needed a prosthetic . . .

_That ruined my social life._

. . . Which cost more money . . .

_And then we had to move, and then there's that time I left Mom unattended._

. . . Which made her need hospitalization . . .

_I was so stupid!_

. . . Which made them lose a lot of money . . .

Sasuke sat up in bed, his hands clenching his sheets as he mentally listed all of the events, all of the screw-ups, which led back to him. It was entirely his fault. If his mother died, it would be his fault. If his family fell apart, it would be his fault. If they were kicked onto the streets, it would be _his fault!_

. . . Which made Itachi go to work, which led to their lack of money, which led to their financial struggles and to the bills and to the electricity and it all whirled around in Sasuke's head until his eyes began to sting.

"If I wasn't so _worthless!"_ he shouted to no one in particular. "None of this would have happened if Dad didn't hate me so much."

He stood on his feet, staring at the ceiling with adrenaline suddenly pumping his veins to fuel his anger.

"If I just worked _harder_, we wouldn't be living this shitty life! I keep asking myself _why!_ _Why_ do we live the way we do now? _Why_ does mother have to be in the hospital? _Why_ is Itachi so stressed? But I knew the answer all along."

He was in the bathroom now, staring at the cracked mirror to see his red eyes, his pallid complexion, his snarl.

"It's me."

He stared at the razor on the sink.

"And to eliminate the problem," he whispered, reaching for it, "I must eliminate myself."

_No!_

It was the voice in his head that made him stop reaching for the razor Itachi uncaringly left on the sink.

_It's too cliché!_

_What?_

_Cliché! _All_ the depressed characters rant about how their lives are worthless, how they're so depressed and emo, and then they try and cut themselves with razors, do drugs, and it makes the story too cliché!_

_What the hell am I thinking?_

He was right. To cut himself with a razor would be stupid.

That's why he stood in his brother's room, kneeling beside the broken paintings that portrayed all of Itachi's happiness, seeing the dried blood on the wooden frames. He picked up a particularly sharp-looking piece of wood and turned it over in his hands a few times, inspecting it.

"To eliminate the problem . . ."

He turned over his hand to reveal the tender skin of his wrists.

". . . I must eliminate myself."

And he moved his arm to bring down the razor-like wood across his flesh.

But he couldn't do it.

He wouldn't do it.

Thoughts suddenly plagued him, a thousand a minute.

Submitting to his problems was weak. Submitting to his father's piercing words would brand him as weak-hearted. Truly, truly worthless. Just what his father said. Why should he succumb to his father's words?

Why did he have to live up to his father's expectations of being a pathetic son?

Sasuke wanted to live longer. He wanted to live to prove his father wrong.

He _wasn't_ worthless.

He wouldn't_ be_ worthless.

He was going to live, whether the world liked it or not.

Sasuke stared at the piece of wood still in his hands, still moving to meet his wrist. In an instant, he redirected it to his arm. The sharp piece of wood slit his flesh in a jagged line. Blood instantly began to gather at the wound and flow over his pallid skin. He let out a soft yelp of surprise and pain.

But the urge to kill himself still nagged him in the back of his mind. His eyes averted to his other arm, contemplating. His will told him not to, but his mind told his hands to move. The piece of wood touched the skin of his other wrist.

_"Worthless."_

_"Die, die!"_

"Fuck."

And his hand moved to slice the tender flesh of his underarm instead of his wrist. He had done it, he thought. He was going to live, and his father's death would be in vain.

But his heart suddenly skipped a beat.

_What am I doing?!_

He was beginning to panic. There was too much blood. He knew he wasn't going to die, but there was too much. Too much.

What had he done?

"No, no, no!" he said to himself, his voice raising itself a pitch. He'd finally resolved to live. But what if the blood _was_ too much? What if he'd cut a major vein on his arm? Was the cut _that_ deep?

The questions raced through his mind, briefly blocking any thoughts he had of his father and cutting his victory short.

"Stop!" he urged the blood, trying to wipe it away with his sleeves. "Stop, stop! I said I'd live! I want to live!"

Frantically, he thrust the wood from his hands and ran from the room, the pain almost blinding him. His face was set into a determined expression: determined to live. Determined to prove his father wrong. Determined to stop the blood from flowing and pretend like nothing happened.

He banged through the kitchen cupboards in alarm, searching for the bandages Itachi kept. Sanguine rivulets of blood fell down his pale arms as he reached up to inspect the shelves.

"All this talk of wanting to live," he said to himself as he pulled the first aid kit from a corner inside. "And now I just might die."

His vision was dimming in the aftereffects of his adrenaline rush. Shaking fingers clawed open the box and took out the roll of bandages. Sasuke quickly went to the sink and turned the faucet on to a mild rush, dipping his bloodied arms beneath them to stem the blood flow briefly. When it stopped just enough to allow him a few seconds of pausing, he deftly unraveled the bandages around his right arm, cut them, and wrapped the other half around his left arm.

"Damn," he whispered to himself, staring at the poor excuse of first aid. "I can't let anyone see this."

Sasuke sunk to the floor lamely, seeing the mess he'd made in the kitchen and the stain of blood that peaked through the thick bandages. He was safe now, he thought. A damn fool, but a determined idiot.

The memories came back: the falls, his leg, his brother, his mother, and the bold, red letters of the eviction notice.

He didn't know what to do. He knew he had to be strong, and he knew he had to get his life back on the right track.

But he didn't know how.

Ninety-nine percent of his mind told him to live to prove his father wrong. It told him to live every time he thought of his brother's and mother's reactions to his death, how everything would fall apart even further.

But one percent of him wished the bandages would unravel suddenly and let the blood flow back: the half that still believed he had destroyed everything.

Sasuke shut that one percent off and stood on wobbly knees.

He needed to clean the mess he'd made before Itachi came home.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Naruto expected a lot of things.

He expected the sun to come up every morning. He expected his alarm clock to go off, telling him that school was just around the corner. He expected his grandmother to be working in the hospital when he woke up, too.

He _didn't_ expect Sasuke to be at school.

It was thirty minutes into P.E. when Sasuke strolled in, a note in one hand and his bag in the other. All eyes were on him for two reasons:

One, because he was late.

Two, because he looked like crap.

Absolute crap. Sasuke's hair, which had always been a little . . . different, was now even more tousled. His bloodshot eyes and the dark rings around them showed how little sleep he had gotten. There was nothing unusual about his clothes: a simple black shirt and a baggy pair of jeans . . .

. . . Except that it was the hottest day of the year and the Uchiha was wearing a sweatshirt.

"Sasuke, what has happened to your youth?" questioned Gai when Sasuke handed him the note.

"I slept in," said the Uchiha.

Naruto knew it was a lie. He exchanged glances with Kiba, raising an eyebrow. The dog-lover shrugged.

"Well, since your note tells me that you are not youthful enough to play this class, you should replenish your soul beneath the shade of that tree over there! Everyone! Back to your laps of _love!"_

Naruto waited until Gai was preoccupied with a collection of sporks that he kept in his jacket to walk over to Sasuke. He knelt beside the resting Uchiha. Sasuke's eyes were closed and his head was back to lean against the tree.

"Hey," said Naruto.

Sasuke's bloodshot eyes suddenly jolted open and he stared around wildly. Seeing Naruto, he relaxed and went back to his resting position. "Hey," he offered.

"Did you get enough sleep?"

"Does it _look_ like I got enough sleep?"

". . . Sorry. I was just wondering."

Sasuke sighed and put one hand over his eyes. "Sorry. I'm just cranky."

"That's not new."

Sasuke didn't smile.

"Do me a favor," he said instead. "Don't tell Kakashi I'm here, okay? The school marked me absent for the first period and knowing him, he'll think I'm absent for the whole day, so let's just keep it that way. Please."

Naruto was going to say no, but the second the Uchiha said please, he knew he meant business. He nodded solemnly, promising he wouldn't, but secretly thinking about Sasuke's well-being.

"Why did you come to school in the first place?" he asked Sasuke a while later, watching Gai continue to rant.

"Track."

Naruto stared at Sasuke once more, noting the way his head lolled to the side briefly before he jerked awake.

"Get some sleep, Sasuke," said Naruto, standing and brushing off non-existent grass. "I'll wake you up when we leave, okay?"

Sasuke managed a barely-visible smirk. "Thanks, Uzumaki."

"Any time."

Math class just made everything worse. Sasuke went in, sat down, tried to focus on the lesson, and only found the tensional stress tightening his chest. Numbers upon numbers appeared wherever Hayate's chalk-bearing hand swept over the blackboard.

The numbers came off of the board suddenly. They wound around him, turning red, turning bold, turning scrip or underlined or enlarged.

_You owe us . . ._

_You have an overdue payment of . . ._

_. . . Or we will cut you off . . ._

He groaned and buried his head in his hands, willing the memories to go away. They stayed with him in Shop Class. Kankuro saw the way Sasuke didn't seem focused and willed him to stay away from the saws. He excused the Uchiha from the class assignment and allowed him to work on the project he'd started a while ago.

Lunch after Arabic was spent trying his best to avoid a certain silver-haired man at all costs. It worked, for the most part. He ducked inside a stall in the bathroom and waited until the ring of the bell, and then it was off to Chemistry.

Now it was after school and Sasuke stood with the track team around Genma.

"Listen here, kiddies," said the man, chewing on the toothpick in his mouth. "We've got the marathon coming up next weekend, y'hear?"

"Do you think we're ready, coach?" asked Lee.

Genma stared at the team for a while, smirked, and nodded firmly. "If we're not a ready team now, then I doubt we'll ever be better than we are."

"What about Suna Sand Demons?" asked Kiba. "They've got Gaara."

Genma's smirk only widened. "What about _our_ team?" he replied smartly. "That redhead doesn't stand a damn chance! I really think we're taking home the gold this year. But we've got'a train hard this week and I'll let you off the hook next week. Is everyone ready to run some laps just for the hell of it?"

"Yeah!" was the enthusiastic reply. Sasuke closed his eyes and groaned.

"Then get the hell out there and _own_ those laps! Move! Move! Move!"

It was torture.

"Uchiha!" Genma called when Sasuke passed him the fifth time around. "You look like you ate one of Kakashi's cookies!"

"I don't suppose that's a good thing," replied the Uchiha. Naruto came up beside him.

"Just to say, Kakashi's cookies look like they've been buried for a few centuries."

"Millenniums, Naruto. Didn't you get the hazard notice I sent you?"

Naruto laughed. "He's just feeling a little under the weather, coach. He'll be alright in time for the tournament. No worries."

But Sasuke _was_ worried.

Especially since after school, who did he happen to walk into?

"I thought you were absent," commented Kakashi. "You look horrible. Why on earth did you come to school today?"

"I had a track meet and I didn't want you barking up my rope," said the Uchiha. He turned to walk away, but Naruto stood there, an eyebrow raised.

"I think you two should head to my office before you leave."

"Come _on_, Kakashi," said Sasuke, sighing. "I think I've had enough to deal with for a lifetime."

But Kakashi was already steering him towards his office by the shoulders. Naruto followed obediently. His curious nature wouldn't allow him to miss out on anything Kakashi had to say.

The silver-haired man closed the door behind them and sat down, inspecting Sasuke's ruffled expression. He was about to comment about the boy's lack of sleep when something much stranger caught his eye.

"You're wearing long sleeves."

Sasuke inwardly began to panic, but he kept his exterior calm.

"Yeah, I was wondering about that, too, but I didn't want to say anything," said Naruto, inspecting Sasuke's heavy black sweatshirt.

Sasuke shrugged and crossed his arms over his chest from the beanbag he sat on. Naruto leaned forward in his own chair.

"I can wear a sweatshirt if I want to."

"It's the hottest day of the summer."

"I'm thin. I need insulation."

"You know that doesn't make sense," Kakashi countered.

Sasuke bit his lip, a subtle sign that he was breaking. Kakashi caught this. He stared at the Uchiha and tried to make sense of the equation he was being given. His eyebrows furrowed.

"Sasuke," he said calmly. "Let me see your arms."

Sasuke stood up suddenly and moved towards the door. "I'm out of here. I don't need to be inspected like I'm going to prison."

"Sasuke," Kakashi said with more force. He stood up and advanced on the Uchiha. Sasuke turned to face him and backed up. His back eventually hit the door as he shook his head, no. "Let me _see."_

Sasuke's hand fumbled for the doorknob.

It was locked.

_Damn! Shit! Crap!_

Kakashi gently but forcefully grabbed his arms, pulling his hands from his chest. Sasuke hissed in pain and tried to get out of the grip, but eventually gave up struggling. He didn't want to reopen the cuts on his arms, and he knew Kakashi would find out eventually.

With Sasuke's head hanging low, Kakashi pulled back one of Sasuke's sleeves to his forearm.

Nothing.

Kakashi only saw the untouched skin of Sasuke's wrists. He hadn't raised the sleeves of the sweatshirt high enough. Kakashi audibly breathed a sigh of relief. Sasuke mentally did the same.

"See?" the Uchiha said, trying to remove his hands from Kakashi's grip. "I'm not suicidal. Can I leave?"

Kakashi thought over this for all of two seconds before he raised an eyebrow. "Why were you panicking?"

And before Sasuke even had the time to think of a reasonable retort, Kakashi tightened his grip and pulled back the sleeve of one arm to Sasuke's elbow. He could not help the gasp that came with the discovery; neither could Naruto.

"Sasuke . . . you . . ."

"I know, okay?" Sasuke snapped, wrenching his hand away. He pulled both of his sleeves back, revealing his bandaged arms. The cut on his right arm had reopened and blood was beginning to stain the virgin whiteness of the material with a long line of red. "I cut myself, alright? I thought about taking my life!"

He turned around swiftly to face the door, leaning his forehead on it and punching the barrier with his left fist.

"Sasuke, _why_ would you do such a thing?" asked Kakashi, his hand on Sasuke's back. He still needed time to try and process the whole thing. "You even told me yourself how everyone around you would react if you died."

"You don't understand, Kakashi." The Uchiha had turned around once more, his eyes set in determination and his customary snarl contorting his mouth. "I _thought _about it, okay? But I told myself I wouldn't! I sat there thinking about killing myself, but _I_ was the one that said I wouldn't do it. I'm not suicidal, Kakashi. I don't want to die. That's the last thing I want to do."

Kakashi stood in silence for a while, thinking about how to assess the situation. He noted Sasuke's mental growth.

"I admire your determination, Sasuke, I really do. But that's another matter. The matter I want to go over _now_ is _why_ you thought about killing yourself in the first place." He needed to get the situation down before he could go praising his pupil.

Sasuke's retort was almost immediate. "It isn't fair,_"_ he said. His eyes were rimming with red from frustration and anger. "We didn't do anything to deserve the life we're getting!"

Naruto's own eyes were rimming red in the confusion that swam around his head.

"We didn't do _anything_ and now we're living lower than _dirt!_ Mom's in the hospital fighting for her life, and I don't even get to see Itachi at all now! We're _this_ close to getting evicted and on top of that, he's losing it almost as much as I am!"

"You're under a lot of pressure, Sasuke, and I understand what you're going through –"

"No, you don't!" Sasuke snapped back. "The only way you'd know what I was going through is if you were going through it, too! Experience is everything, Kakashi! You even taught me that!"

"It's no reason to think about taking your life! You were _this _close to doing so! You don't understand the seriousness of the situation!"

_"You_ don't!"

Sasuke saw the keys on Kakashi's desk. He stood up suddenly, surprising the silver-haired man so much that he fell backwards to land on one of his beanbag chairs, and snatched the keys from the desk.

"Sasuke, stop!"

But Sasuke was already fumbling with the doorknob. Someone grabbed onto his ankle when he finally got the door to open and in his panicked rush, he kicked the person. He was already out of the room before he had time to hear him scream.

Running. Running was good.

He ran, having never switched his leg off of its second mode. Turning several hallways in an attempt to throw Naruto and Kakashi off (if they were following him in the first place), he saw the exit to the school right ahead of him.

And then he was seeing stars.

It took him a few seconds to realize he'd been pulled into an all-too-familiar room and was now staring up (since he was on the floor) at the face of none other than Tayuya.

"Back so soon, asshole?" she growled, absolutely outraged. Sasuke could feel the sickly flow of blood from his nose. "I'm going to give you one second to say a parting speech before I _murder_ you!"

"I'll join you."

And Sasuke pulled her down to kiss her fiercely.

He wasn't quite sure what had caused him to do so, really. Perhaps it was because he thought that if he put his mind on anything other than the situations he was currently dealing with, they'd go away. Perhaps it was because he didn't want to die just then. Or perhaps it was because he had heard Kakashi's voice speaking to Naruto outside in the hall and did not want Tayuya's loud mouth to give his position away.

There was a wolf whistle in the background that Sasuke was sure came from Kidomaru as Tayuya pulled away savagely, Sasuke's blood smeared on her lips.

"You fucker," she hissed. "I'm not falling for that again."

"I swear I'll join you," the Uchiha insisted. Tayuya was seated on his chest. "I'll give you whatever you want, I don't care. I'll join you and do whatever. Just . . . just . . ."

He pulled her down to kiss her fiercely again and this time, Tayuya complied.

"Looks like we got ourselves a feisty new member," commented Sakon from somewhere in the background.

Tayuya grinded against Sasuke as she kissed him, her lithe legs straddling his waist. She deepened the kiss and all Sasuke wanted was more . . . more . . . _more!_ He didn't want to think about anything else but letting his anger out on the fuchsia-haired girl ravaging him. Tayuya's hands roamed under his sweatshirt.

"Tayuya, come on!" whined Kidomaru. "Not here! We were just about to leave!"

When Sasuke's mouth opened to allow Tayuya's tongue entrance, all he tasted was blood. It was intoxicating, but Tayuya's tongue suddenly jittered around his and he ignored all thoughts to retort. Tayuya's hands eventually skillfully took off Sasuke's sweatshirt. She stopped briefly to admire Sasuke's body.

"Ooh, we've got ourselves a little emo boy," she taunted, staring at Sasuke's scars and bandaged arms. She licked her lips, wiping the blood from them, and gave a noise in satisfaction.

"Would you two stop already?"

Sasuke was panting deeply, feeling the way Tayuya ground against his waist and gritting his teeth. He wanted more. He had found a better way to take away the pain than doing drugs.

"This calls for a celebration," said Tayuya, rubbing her hands over Sasuke's chest.

"The bars?" Sakon exclaimed hopefully.

"The bars."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke went with the Sound 5 that day. He allowed himself to be taken into a sleek blue Honda® and driven to whatever destination the gang wished. Kimimaro wasn't present and when he'd asked about it, Tayuya told him he said he had some things to do before pulling the Uchiha down and kissing him.

Kidomaru, who had been forced to take the backseat (Sakon – no, Ukon had called shotgun as Jirobo drove), gave a girlish squeal.

"Save me!" he cried. "They're going to get naked any second and I'm right next to them!"

"You should've called shotgun," taunted Ukon in a sing-song voice.

"Shut up, Ukon!"

"It's Sakon!"

Sasuke moaned when Tayuya bit his neck. Kidomaru cried.

"Save it for the bar!"

When Sasuke stumbled out of the car, blood still smeared over his face, he looked up to see neon lights and behind them, a darkening sky.

_Ultrasound._

Loud music blared from inside. Tayuya pulled savagely on his wrist, smirking mischievously.

"We're celebrating," she explained.

"But don't you have to be eighteen to enter?"

"He's adorable," Kidomaru said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "I'm just thanking God you didn't decide to unzip his pants, Tayuya."

"Fuck off, Kidomaru."

"Is that the infamous Tayuya I hear?"

The voice came from within the bar. It was suave, dark, and belonged to a cloaked man that stood at its entrance, his eyes hidden beneath a pair of darkly-tinted glasses.

"Kakuzu," said Tayuya. "We're here to celebrate. We got ourselves that new member we wanted."

Kakuzu's eyes swept over Sasuke from beneath his glasses, nodding. He let the Sound 5 and Sasuke in without asking for a single ID card. Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"Connections," offered Tayuya.

The bar was filled with everything the stereotypical dance club had. There were blue lights that filled the room, despite the time being only six, and loud techno music blared from large speakers in the back. Teenagers and adults of all kinds were sensually dancing on the floor, drinks in their hands and their bodies grinding together.

Those who weren't dancing were sitting at the large bar at the side. Jirobo acted as their bodyguard to get them through to find seats at the bar. Tayuya roughly pushed Sasuke into a chair and then sat on his lap.

"A new pet, I see," the girl behind the counter said to Tayuya.

Tayuya snatched a rag from the girl's hands and dabbed it against Sasuke's blood-covered face. "Fuck off, Chi. He's our new member."

"Did you get him into bed yet?"

Sasuke was too dazed to realize what they were saying. The memories of his family were coming back and he desperately wanted to suppress them. He wanted Tayuya to kiss him again. His hands tightened around her waist. Tayuya smirked mischievously once more.

"We'll take two cups of Everclear© cocktail – highest proof."

"Everclear?" said Chi. "A little too high, ain't it? This kid don't look that old. Got any experience with alcohol kid?"

Sasuke shook his head.

"This should be fun."

"Cut the shit, Chi, and get us our fucking drinks!"

Kidomaru waggled his eyes suggestively at two girls that pointed to him and giggled. He turned to Tayuya. "I'm going to go celebrate over there," he said, leaving. Jirobo looked like the average bodyguard. He stood on his stool (looking quite awkward on such a small piece of furniture) and stared at the crowd of sluts and drunkards.

Looking to his left, Sasuke spotted a boy and girl hurriedly making their way into the back of the bar, the girl already throwing her shirt over her head as she stumbled through.

Tayuya forced Sasuke's head towards hers and crashed her lips onto his. Sasuke's grip only tightened further. Of all the girls he'd been with since the age of thirteen, of all the girls he'd dated, of all the girls he'd sucked face with in parking lots, Tayuya had to be the most aggressive. Their teeth chinked together as their savage battle of tongues continued.

"You a virgin, Uchiha?" Tayuya asked when they broke apart briefly so she could once again rid Sasuke of his shirt.

Sasuke's dazed eyes stared at her as he shook his head. Tayuya's eyes widened in surprise.

"Are you kidding me?"

"Last weeks of being fifteen," Sasuke said. He moaned. Tayuya's head bent down to suck on the skin of his neck. "I had anger issues. You?"

Tayuya grinned as she continued to suck. When she pulled her head back, there was a highly visible hickey that stood out on Sasuke's pale skin. "Fourteen."

"Don't go too hard on him, Tayuya. He looks fragile," teased Chi. She placed two greenish bottles affront of Sasuke and Tayuya.

"Alcohol is the best way to get rid of problems," said Tayuya. She took her bottle and in one swift movement, she downed almost half of it. "Poof!"

Sasuke looked hesitantly at the bottle.

He was hesitant about the whole thing, really. He didn't love Tayuya. Kissing her felt more like something he needed to do instead of wanted to do – something to get his mind off of everything. Coming to the bar was just part of the deal. The alcohol . . .

. . . He _did_ say he wanted more.

He took the bottle in his hands and uncapped it, trying to ignore Tayuya, who was now beginning to lower her lips onto his chest. The smell was nauseating.

"Drink it."

He drank it.

He only swallowed a sip and couldn't keep it in. His throat didn't want the nasty, bitter taste and so it coughed it back up. Tayuya's lips were suddenly on his, drinking it directly from his mouth.

"Get used to it," she said, letting her tongue roam his mouth. "Drink."

Sasuke shook his head.

_I shouldn't be here._

"Drink."

_Itachi will murder you. You shouldn't be doing this. Stop it, Sasuke._

Tayuya rubbed her chest again his, her breaths coming out in pants. She took another swig of her own bottle before grabbing Sasuke's and forcing it to the Uchiha's lips.

"Drink."

_Don't do it! Listen to me for once!_

Sasuke's lips parted.

He allowed the scorching liquid to burn his throat. Tayuya giggled drunkenly and ground her waist against Sasuke's, her breath hot on his neck.

"Drink."

_What happened to being determined?! What happened to not wanting to be weak?! Is this the way to fight back?!_

He drank it again, downing almost half the bottle. The lights of the bar magnified and the music blasted his ears suddenly. It had just dawned onto him that in order to communicate, he had been screaming over the noise.

"Drink!"

The bottle was empty now, and Sasuke felt slightly nauseated, but the nausea left and replaced itself with a feeling of highness that he did not want to lose. When Tayuya kissed him, he kissed her back, just because he didn't want to lose it.

"Doesn't that feel good, Uchiha?" she whispered seductively into his ear, grinding against him. "Don't you want more?"

Sasuke's head fell back, his eyes closed in pleasure. "I want more," he whispered hoarsely through his harsh breaths. "More. Give me more."

Tayuya was suddenly pushing him through the crowd, to one of the empty rooms in the back of the bar.

Little to say, Sasuke got more.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

When Sasuke left the bar, it was eleven at night. Jirobo, who had stayed sober, drove him home. Tayuya stayed at the bar.

Sasuke told Jirobo to stop at a certain corner, saying that he needed to visit someone first (trying to hide the fact that he wasn't rich) and stumbled the rest of the way home. He used the elevator, giggling drunkenly and playfully pressing all the buttons on the way until, through his blurry vision, he could make out the seventh floor.

Inserting the key, he swung the door open, flung himself inside, and said in the loudest, slurred voice, "Lucy! I'm _home!"_

"Sasuke?"

Uh oh.

Sasuke hadn't anticipated Itachi to be home. He had completely forgotten about his brother in the hospital in his quest to forget about everything in the world. A sober Sasuke would have frozen at the sight of his brother heading towards him after placing the newspaper on the coffee table. The room was illuminated with a single candle.

Drunken Sasuke, however, giggled and staggered forward.

Itachi took in the sight of his brother. Sasuke's hair was tousled, his eyes were unfocused, and dried blood caked the skin around his nose. Something red stood out visible on his neck.

Upon further inspection, Itachi realized what it was.

_No, it couldn't be,_ he thought.

But then he took in the rest of his brother's body: Sasuke's rumpled sweatshirt was on backwards. His pants, although placed on correctly, had the zipper unzipped and his belt undone.

"Oh man, Itachi," slurred Sasuke, stumbling towards his brother. "You should've been there! She felt _good!_"

There were so many questions going through Itachi's head.

"You had sex?"

Sasuke's face turned comically confused. He raised an eyebrow as he swayed. "Is that what it was? Because if it is, then I just had the best sex of my life!" He giggled after this.

"You're drunk."

It didn't hit Itachi until Sasuke giggled and fell forward, only to giggle some more.

"You _are_ drunk!"

The heat of his anger melted his indifferent look. His eyes were now blazing. Grabbing his brother by the arm, Itachi roughly pushed Sasuke onto their weary couch.

"What's going on? What were you _thinking?!"_ he yelled.

Sasuke's eyes turned downcast. Gone was his high, drunken stupor and in came his sober sorrows – hangover and all.

"And you're _two years underage!_ Do you know how much trouble you would've caused if the police found you?!"

"Sorry . . ." mumbled Sasuke, twiddling with his thumbs. Itachi's yelling cut into his brain like a needle being scratched across a chalkboard.

Itachi let out a frustrated growl, his bandaged hands tangling in his obsidian locks.

"I _just_ got out of the hospital for stress, Sasuke! Don't put me back in it! What the hell _happened? _How did you manage to get your hands on alcohol and _who the hell_ did you have_ sex _with?!"

Sasuke didn't want to look at his brother. He wanted alcohol again. He wanted to be kissing Tayuya again, to feel the coldness of the tiles as he rocked back and forth and she cried out in pleasure and all his memories went bye-bye –

"Sasuke!"

"Stop patronizing me, damn it!" screamed Sasuke. "One event just led to another and that's how it happened, okay? I went to a bar! I drank alcohol! I danced! I fucked! What do you care?!"

"Sasuke, you're making this so _difficult!"_

Sasuke stared at Itachi, who looked so close to breaking at that one point. Itachi looked like he was _twenty_, not _sixty – _not a little boy who had grown up too fast.

Itachi had grown up _too_ fast.

"You're not helping if you're off doing illegal things!"

"Then get rid of me!" screamed Sasuke. In an instant, he tore off his sweatshirt and thrust his bandaged arms in his brother's directions. Itachi's bloodshot eyes grew wide. "I already tried!"

Itachi fell to his knees in front of his little brother, viciously grabbing his hair. He bent down so low, his forehead touched the carpet. He stayed in that position.

"Stop it!" he yelled to no one in particular. "Just stop it! It's too much to handle right now, Sasuke! It's too much!"

"Then I'll help you!"

Sasuke whirled around and was out the door in two strides.

He didn't stop running. He didn't stop running until he stumbled over the concrete steps at the front of his apartment and his legs gave way in the garden of trees and bushes. Tears were stinging at his eyes. Still on the floor, he crawled over to the nearest bush, his eyes bleary and his head pounding and his stomach churning.

Screw determination, he thought. If being determined was going to cause so much trouble, then he didn't want to fight back. If no one cared about his will to live, then maybe they'd care about his hopes to die. **[2]**

Before he could do anything at all, his mouth opened forcefully and he emptied his stomach contents behind the nearest bush. He vomited once more after he'd paused to allow himself a few breaths from his stifled tears.

"Aw, is the little kiddie crying?"

It was a familiar voice. Sasuke turned around, not even bothering to wipe his mouth, to stare at the multiplying outline of a man with slicked back blond hair.

"I'll make it all better for you."

In a sudden movement that Sasuke's drunken stupor couldn't comprehend, he was being held tightly by a cold arm around his bare torso. A callused hand covered his mouth to smother any screams.

"Boss, I've got him," said the blond man. There was the crinkle of a radio.

It was the last set of words Sasuke heard before taking a powerful blow to his head that sent him into oblivion.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Itachi didn't go after Sasuke.

He couldn't have.

Why?

Oh, simply because he was trying not to hyperventilate, but it wasn't working well. His chest heaved and his eyes were squeezed shut and all his thoughts jumbled together to make his head hurt.

Why was the world being so cruel to him?

All he saw was white. The whiteness of Sasuke's skin. The white bandages wrapped around his brother's arms, over the tell-tale wounds of suicide. And red. The red veins of Sasuke's pupils, of the hickey standing out of his skin, of the blood that had dried on his nose.

The thoughts didn't help his breathing. He knew if he didn't do something quickly, he would have another panic attack, experience cyanosis once more, and no one would be around to save him.

With that thought, he gathered what little strength he had to collapse on his couch and reach for the phone, his breaths still coming out in wheezes. Shaking fingers dialed an all-too-familiar number.

_"Hello?"_

Wheeze, wheeze.

_"Sasuke, is that you?"_

Pant, wheeze, swallow . . . "S-Sasuke . . ."

_"Itachi? Are you having another attack? What's wrong?"_

There were dark spots appearing in his vision. One of his hands – he couldn't comprehend which – rubbed his eyes, but the dots remained.

_"Itachi, answer me. Itachi!"_

The line went dead.

When Kakashi arrived at the Uchiha household, the first thing he noticed was the open door of the apartment. The second thing he noticed was the flickering light of a dying candle. The last thing he noticed was the thing he'd been looking for: Itachi.

The Uchiha was limp on the couch in a posture that seemed as if he had once been sitting and fell asleep in such a position, but it was unnatural. His mouth was open, his chest heaving, his hand limp beside a phone hanging loosely on its chord.

"Itachi!"

Itachi's eyes opened. He'd been conscious. His eyes darted towards Kakashi with a look of thankfulness and relief.

"Breathe, Itachi," instructed the silver-haired man, kneeling directly in front of the Uchiha. "In and out. You don't want to go to the hospital again."

Itachi didn't look at Kakashi when he buried his head in his hands suddenly, his chest still heaving.

"Kakashi," he wheezed out. ". . . I can't do . . . can't do this."

"Just regulate your breathing and we can talk about everything, okay?"

The silver-haired man's eyes averted from Itachi to the rest of the room, taking in every detail that looked strange to him. A newspaper accompanied a wax candle that was almost to its base. Looking at the floor to see any signs of anything broken, he spotted a familiar sweatshirt.

_Sasuke's_ sweatshirt.

_Oh . . ._

"Did Sasuke come?"

It seemed to be the wrong thing to say. Itachi took in one large gasp for breath and his chest convulsed. Kakashi became alarmed.

"Hey, hey! Don't think about that! Just work your breathing down. You're under a lot of stress right now."

"He tried to _kill_ himself!" Itachi suddenly screamed. "Do _not_ tell me to calm down!"

"_You'll_ kill yourself if you don't! Breathe!"

"He got _drunk!"_

Kakashi silenced himself, his eyes growing wide.

"He got _drunk_, Kakashi! He staggered in here telling me about some girl he'd fucked!"

"But he's –"

"– Two years underage, I know!"

Itachi's head was out of his hands and his obsidian eyes bore into Kakashi's single gray one. His breathing had subsided slightly. Suddenly, his expression went from serious (actually _changed)_ to a saddened, desperate expression that never before Kakashi had experienced.

"Help us, Kakashi," he said. "We're ill. We need help. I can't take this anymore."

"You're not ill, Itachi. You just have a lot of pressure."

"Why would he try to _kill_ himself?!"

The rage was back.

"Am I doing something wrong? Tell me, Kakashi! Am I doing something wrong?!"

He screamed the last part, grabbing the front of Kakashi's shirt as he said it and shaking the man. Kakashi looked into his eyes to see a familiar crazed stare; a manic stare that was once in Sasuke's eyes.

Kakashi shook his head calmly. "He told me he only thought about it, Itachi. He told me he was determined to live, but I'm still a little confused. I think Sasuke just blames himself for all the things that are happening. We've got to tell him that he isn't the one to blame. We've got to just sit down and talk."

Itachi raked his hands through his hair. "Father's death," he whispered. "I remember in the hospital. He said it was his fault father died."

"Does he know the real reason?"

Itachi's eyes widened.

"Where is he now?"

Itachi's eyes, if possible, widened even more. He jolted from the couch, took a step, and collapsed. Kakashi was there to hold him up.

"I'll call Kisame," he said. "He'll stay with you while I go find Sasuke."

"I'm going with you."

"If he's as drunk as you said, he shouldn't have gotten far."

"That's just the thing, Kakashi! He's drunk! Who knows where he's gone?!"

"Get rest, Itachi."

"Kakashi, I'm going with you."

Kakashi sighed. "Fine. Let me get a coat for you and we'll leave."

Had Itachi been beneath any other circumstances, he would have realized that he didn't _need_ a coat. He would have realized that Kakashi was lying. He would have also realized that, by the dying fire of the candle, something glinted behind Kakashi's back.

In a swift, practiced motion, Kakashi had Itachi's arm in his grasp and was inserting a needle into the vulnerable flesh. He emptied the syringe and watched Itachi's surprised eyes close.

"You know," said Kakashi, recapping the needle. "I never thought I'd need to use it on you, Itachi."

He extinguished the candle and left the Uchiha in the dark apartment with nothing but Sasuke's words echoing in his mind.

_". . . I don't even get to see Itachi at all now! We're this close to getting evicted and on top of that, he's losing it almost as much as I am!"_

_---------------------------------------------------------------_

**[1] Cyanosis - **The real deal. The idea spawned after a true incident that happened in my school.

**[2] If no one cared about his will to live . . . - **It is a known fact that humans have been searching for acceptance from the moment they are born. Sasuke is just another victim.

See? I told you they wouldn't go skipping hand-in-hand.

**Important Explanation:** The previous might've seemed a little confusing. It must've seemed a little contradicting. The point is, Sasuke has the determination to live. But he, like any other human, needs the acceptance to do so. He needs someone along the way to go "Yeah! That's the right thing to do! Come on!"

But the first thing Kakashi did was overlook that part and focus on the negative. So in a sense, it could be Kakashi's fault that he accepted getting invited to the bar. Sasuke wants to be accepted. This concept is going to be going on for a while.

I would really appreciate your feedback on this chapter, please.


	11. Can't Touch This

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I wouldn't have to endure the pressures of the 10th grade.

**Author's Note:** I don't have a lot to say now, and I'm really busy and stressed out, but I want **ALL READERS** to read the following:

You have to stop and think sometimes. What if this story was an actual novel? What if it was handed to you all at once instead of chapter by chapter, once a week? You can't just quit on an entire book because you don't like the way things are going in one chapter, or because you don't want to wait to see what happens.

And you can't keep asking and getting explanations on the way, because the author plans to reveal something in future chapters. You know what I mean? So if you're pissed at the way things are going, just remember that this was intended to be one large story. There's always going to be a twist here and there, as well as ups and downs.

So don't give up on this thing yet just because everything isn't rainbows and sunshine, okay?

On another note, I've added a bit of humor for comic relief. Some of it's obvious. Sometimes, you have to squint. Thank you immensely for reading, and review if you're moved to.

**Chapter 11  
**…**:::Can't Touch This:::…  
****MC Hammer**

Someone was touching him.

It was _cold._

His head _hurt._

Sasuke opened his eyes painfully and immediately closed them when all he saw was blinding, dizzying white light enter his vision. A beeping noise was faintly coming from somewhere and there were metal tools that chinked and clinked in his mind, searing the silence like a serrated knife.

"Awake already, Sasuke?"

The voice was familiar, but his hazy stupor didn't allow him to place a face. Instead, he groaned softly and tried not to think about the pounding in his skull.

"Ha, I bet you've got a nasty hangover."

"Now, now, Hidan." The voice was dark. Silky. Suave. _Malicious._ "There's no need to speak superfluously to our patient."

_Hidan?_

Sasuke forced his eyes opened. Even through bleary vision, he could still make out the figure of a pallid man, long black hair falling to the middle of his back and lavender markings around his eyes. He was the man that had spoken, so he _wasn't_ Hidan . . .

No, he wasn't Hidan, he soon realized. Hidan was on his left, staring down at him. He was the man with the white-blond hair that had taken him. The other man was someone else, someone that made his body shiver and his skin clam.

"Hello there, Sasuke," said the strange man. He licked his lips. "What a _pleasure_ it is to have you here."

Sasuke tried to gather his surroundings, but could not make out a single detail. The room was white, like a hospital, but it didn't _feel_ like a hospital.

And then he remembered.

"Who the _hell_ are you?" he screamed, disturbing his own mind. "Where am I?"

"Feisty, are we?" the dark-haired man taunted. He gave an ominous chuckle. "Fear not, Sasuke. You are in safe hands."

"The hell I am," the Uchiha spat. "You _kidnapped_ me."

It was the first time he realized he was on a bed of some sort, and when he tried to use his hands, he found that they were strapped uselessly by his sides.

"Where's my brother?" he demanded. "Where am I? Who are you? What are you –?"

Bile rose in his throat and he jerked his head forward. A bucket was suddenly obscuring his vision and without thinking, he vomited. Hidan grimaced and put the bucket back down.

"You just _had_ to make me take him when he was drunk?"

The dark-haired man chuckled once more and said something that Sasuke's drunken stupor didn't comprehend. The Uchiha groaned in pain and lolled his head to the side.

Something didn't feel right.

Something, something was missing.

"My leg!"

Surely enough, his prosthetic leg was gone.

"Calm down, Sasuke, and I will gladly explain to you the situation."

Sasuke growled fiercely. The man advanced upon him, placing his long, bony fingers on his bare torso. Sasuke flinched.

"My name is Orochimaru," the dark voice said. "And I am a . . . _collector_ of sorts."

"I'm not following."

One of Orochimaru's fingers traced Sasuke's jaw line. "I've heard about your _condition_ from an inside source of mine. Your leg is quite fascinating, is it not?"

"I'll call the police, you fucking pedophile."

"Pedophile?" Orochimaru laughed. "Me? I assure you, Sasuke . . ."

His face went closer to the Uchiha's – a mere hair's breadth away.

". . . I am the furthest thing from a pedophile."

Sasuke had a hard time believing that.

"You see, Sasuke, I like to collect body parts like yours. High-tech body parts and their carriers so that I can study them."

"This is illegal," barked Sasuke. "You'll be put in prison for kidnapping, experimentation, –"

"You're a noisy one, aren't you?" Orochimaru grimaced, placing his hand over Sasuke's mouth. The Uchiha dared not to move in his position. Orochimaru's voice took on a harsher tone. "You are a rat in my experiments, Uchiha. I _need_ your leg and so I ordered you to be brought here. What you see around you is my laboratory and Hidan is one of my subordinates.

"Over the past few days, I've had my subordinates closely observe you; stalk you, if you must. They learned of your habits, of your residence, of every matter that goes on within that mind of yours. I've had my eye on you for quite some time."

"And you plan on keeping me hostage?"

Orochimaru chuckled. "Quite the contrary, my boy." His fingers traveled down Sasuke's chest. Sasuke turned as sober as ever. He realized his dangerous position: alone, without anyone he knew, without anyone for help, and strapped to a bed with a dangerous stranger.

What had he gotten himself into?

Orochimaru lifted his shirt from his torso. Sasuke's mind quickly went into a sudden panic, but stopped when he realized that Orochimaru was trying to show him something. His body was a mix of mechanics; his right arm was made of simple prosthetics, extending all the way to his shoulder where a metal plate was attached and covering his pectoral. A glint of metal shone from the joint of his hip and disappeared into his pants.

"I've had quite a few body parts taken away from me after an experiment of mine went awry and the body parts that were given to me are insufficient. By studying prosthetics of the latest technology," he said, "I will be able to create one of my own that will not only be revolutionary, but will make millions.

"I will let you go every time you are in my grasp, and every few days or so, you will return," continued Orochimaru.

"And what makes you think I'll come willingly?"

Sasuke wished he had never asked.

Orochimaru's smile was one that sent fear into him, paralyzing him. "Because," he said in an ominous whisper. "I know those you hold near and dear to you, and you wouldn't want one of them to _snap."_

Sasuke's eyes widened. "What do you know?" he demanded. "Tell me!"

"I know your brother, Itachi," taunted the man. "I know where he works, when he works, and his weakest points."

"What makes you think I won't tell the authorities? They would have you taken down so quickly –"

"Mikoto Uchiha, age thirty seven," he said. "_Comatose."_

Sasuke silenced.

"What would happen if her life support in England was to suddenly _shut down?"_

"You . . . you can't."

Orochimaru smiled. "Oh, but I _can."_

Sasuke felt the bile rise in his throat once more and cold sweat break out onto his skin. He froze, his eyes wide and his breathing harsh and ragged.

"No way . . ."

The events that happened after it were quick and with Sasuke's hangover, not fully comprehended. He was on a bed one second, there was a lot of screaming and struggling, the world numbed and darkened, and then he was being slung over powerful shoulders and thrown into a cold, dark room. He heard a heavy door slam shut.

He couldn't control his breathing. Since he'd been thrown into the room, he hadn't moved. There were shackles around his arms and with his prosthetic leg gone, there was no way he'd be able to get up and run.

Curling into a ball, he tried desperately to gain sense of his surroundings. It was dark, the cement beneath him was cold and wet, and he swore his cheeks were as well.

"Itachi," he choked out. What if he died? He didn't exactly like the way he left his brother. The bandages around his arms were a reminder of the chaos he'd plunged into, as well as a promise to himself that he _wouldn't_ die. Not yet. "I'm so sorry."

Where was he? What was going on? Why was everything suddenly happening to him? Maybe it was a dream. A nightmare. Maybe it was a side effect of drinking and blood loss, and when Itachi came home, he might be able to wake Sasuke from his nightmare. Maybe.

"I know you."

The room was so dark, Sasuke hadn't recognized another presence. But now that he thought about it, there was someone huddled in the corner. Sasuke blinked rapidly against the dimness.

"Who . . .?"

The figure moved ever-so-slowly into the small beam of light that was provided through the bars. Sasuke's eyebrows shot up as his eyes grew wide.

"Kimimaro?"

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

It was now two in the morning and Kakashi was getting anxious. He sat on Naruto's living room couch with Tsunade and Naruto affront of him.

"He's _missing?"_

"I'm not quite sure if he would be considered missing yet, but he did run away, yes."

"I _told_ you we should've followed him!" cried Naruto, standing up and pointing a finger accusingly at Kakashi. "I _told_ you!"

"You were bleeding badly, Naruto!"

In the light of the room, Kakashi could still make out the long scab on Naruto's temple that had come from Sasuke's panicked kick. Naruto sat down and grumbled, crossing his arms.

"He'll be fine. He'll always make it back," assured Tsunade. "It's normal."

"He's drunk."

Tsunade's and Naruto's reactions were almost comical. Almost. In unison, they both leaned forward, eyes wide, hands open, and said, "Drunk?!"

Kakashi nodded solemnly.

"No way! He's not _that_ stupid!"

"He's two years underage, Kakashi!"

"I didn't think he was _that_ twisted, damn it!"

Kakashi held up a hand to silence the two of them. "If he doesn't make it back by three o'clock, I'm calling authorities. I've had Kisame stationed at their house, so he'll call me if there's any sign of him."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Kimimaro?"

Sure enough, it was the white-haired boy that had followed the Sound 5 (_Would it be Sound 6?)_ and had saved him and Naruto from disaster. It didn't _look_ like him, however. The only thing Sasuke had recognized was the entrancing eyes of the Kaguya. Everything else was just . . . red. He, too, was shackled, and he stared at his beaten legs, his eyes emotionless.

"You . . .?"

"Don't."

Kimimaro's voice was firm, but he continued to stare at his legs. Sasuke's eyes looked at every detail of the white-haired boy, looking for any reason for the boy to be held captive – any sign of a prosthetic. Only his bare chest seemed untouched, and there was nothing prosthetic about it. "What . . . what are you doing here?"

Kimimaro finally looked at him. "I could ask you the same question."

"They hurt you."

Kimimaro kept quiet.

"What's going on?"

"You're afraid."

Sasuke stared at Kimimaro strangely. "No, I'm not. I want to get out of here, and I'll take you with me."

"It's in your eyes."

Yes, he _was_ afraid. He was so afraid he wanted nothing better to do than curl beneath a blanket with Itachi at his side and his mother singing a lullaby like what happened during the Boogeyman Chronicles at the age of five, but he didn't dare say it. He'd shown enough weakness. He wasn't going to show anymore.

"Aren't _you_?" he whispered to the seemingly-catatonic Kimimaro.

Kimimaro shook his head. "I don't care what happens to me."

"How can you say that?" Sasuke pulled at his hair. "We're being kidnapped! We're being experimented on!"

"_You_ should care." Kimimaro's voice was firm. "You have someone to go back to. I'm going to die here."

He bent forward suddenly, coughing violently. Blood spattered on the cold cement affront of him and Sasuke immediately remembered his illness.

He was so confused.

It hurt to think about it.

He didn't want to believe it.

He had tried to kill himself. He had gotten drunk. He had had one night of drunkenness during which he made a large mistake with a certain fuchsia-haired girl. He had screamed at his brother. And now, he was kidnapped, stripped of his prosthetic leg, and in a dark cellar with a nearly-dead Kimimaro.

It was enough to send his hangover into overdrive. He gave a hysterical, delirious laugh, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he passed out.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Don't tell anyone."

He was outside now. Someone was carrying him.

"Or else."

He knew what that meant.

_Or else Itachi will get hurt. Or else mom will . . . die._

The night was dark and cold. Sasuke could feel his leg back in place. Looking up through bleary vision, he noticed it was Hidan that was carrying him. His eyes were threatening.

"You're going to make up an excuse. We'll be watching you twenty-four-seven, understand?"

Sasuke nodded his head. He knew the consequences.

"Where . . .?"

"I'm taking you back where I found you."

A few more steps and Sasuke felt himself being lowered to the cold earth. He instinctively curled into a ball.

"We'll let you know when we need you again."

Sasuke didn't move. He only hugged himself in attempt to cease his shivering.

He didn't know how long it was when someone was shouting at him. He didn't know how long it had been until there were warm hands on his shoulders, shaking him awake, pleading with him to wake up. All he knew was that it was a friendly voice and that he wanted to follow it. When the person took him into his arms, he didn't try to break free, not even when the urge to vomit became intense.

"Sasuke, speak to me, damn it!" urged Kisame. "Come on!"

Sasuke's head lolled to the side.

"Say something! Please!"

"S-sorry."

Kisame sighed in relief. He sprang to his knees and ran inside of the apartment. He had gone down one more time to make sure that Sasuke was _not_ there before Kakashi called the police when he spotted the poor Uchiha.

The elevator trip to the Uchiha apartment seemed to take eternity. Kisame was desperately trying to keep Sasuke awake. He ran into the open room and directly to the phone, Sasuke still in his hands.

A figure came rushing to Kisame, taking the Uchiha boy from his hands and placing him on the couch.

It was Itachi.

"Sasuke!" he exclaimed. "You asshole!"

And he hugged his brother close to him.

"You asshole," he repeated.

Sasuke gripped the material of his brother's shirt like it was his only lifeline to reality. He buried his face in his chest.

"I'm sorry, Itachi," he said. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry, I swear I am!"

"Sasuke –"

"I'm sorry I ruined your life and tried to take away mine! And I'm sorry I'm drunk and –"

"You didn't ruin my life, Sasuke," said Itachi. In the background, Kisame shouted animatedly over the phone, replying with curt, one-worded answers.

"How can you _say_ that?"

Itachi held his brother away from him at half an arm's length and examined his face. It was pallid and his closed eyes were darkened.

"Open your eyes, Sasuke."

Sasuke shook his head.

"Why not?"

"My eyes . . ." he whispered, his head lowering, ". . . show everything."

The single sentence held more meaning behind it than Itachi could decipher. He brought his brother close to him once more. Kisame said he'd make tea because Kakashi, Tsunade, and Naruto were coming over.

"Sasuke, you have to understand that you can't go around doing these things," whispered Itachi. The two of them sat on the couch. Itachi had laid the covers he was beneath on Sasuke's bare, shivering torso. "These matters are be_yond_ serious! Trying to _kill_ yourself? When Kakashi gets here, I want an explanation."

Kisame reappeared with several cups of tea on a tray, offering one to each Uchiha. Itachi denied. Sasuke dry-retched.

The younger Uchiha stared at the two men surrounding him, his eyes going in and out of focus. Their blurry outlines swayed.

"He doesn't look well," whispered Kisame.

It seemed to be like a movie Sasuke recalled watching, where the cameras seemed to take the vision of the main character, and the pictures blurred and the voices grew fainter and lost clarity. Someone touched his head; he couldn't make out whom.

"He's got a fever."

Sasuke swayed.

"Hey!"

There were two pairs of warm arms around him.

"Sasuke, don't –"

The cameras turned off.

Itachi sighed, gently easing Sasuke so that his back rested against the cushions of the couch. He turned to Kisame and rubbed his eyes with one hand, allowing his fingertips to rest on the bridge of his nose.

"I don't know what to do," he whispered. "This is the first time I've been in a tough situation like this."

"Well, I'm not leaving," Kisame said mildly, staring at Sasuke. He smiled and put his hands behind his head. "I'll help you get through."

There was rapid knocking on the door. Kisame whispered an excuse and moved to open the door. Three figures entered. One of them rushed inside, exclaiming, "Sasuke!"

"Hush, Naruto!" snapped Tsunade when she'd entered as well. Naruto quickly apologized to Itachi, seeing the older man's weary form. He stared at Sasuke for a little while before being offered a seat by Kisame.

"How'd it go?" asked Kakashi, taking the seat across from Itachi.

"He passed out," mumbled Itachi. "I didn't get much out of him."

"Are you going to be okay?" Tsunade stared at Itachi, mentally checking him with her doctor's eye.

"No."

There was silence for a while. No one expected the answer. Sure, they _knew_ he wasn't fine, but for him to admit it was strange – apocalyptic, even.

"Is there anything we can do?"

Itachi looked up from his hands and stared at Kakashi. "You can give me therapy lessons," he said seriously. "And maybe check me in to a mental hospital of some sort."

"You're not mentally ill, Itachi," assured Kakashi. "There's nothing wrong with you other than the stress you hold. It's Sasuke that's a bit . . . sick."

"There's nothing wrong with him, either!" snapped Naruto. "He's always acting perfectly fine!"

"He's unstable, Naruto –"

"No!" Naruto interrupted his grandmother, to her shock. "He's completely stable. You haven't talked to him like I have, Granny! He knows that he isn't in the best of situations, but he wants to do whatever it takes to get the hell out of them!"

"Naruto, the situation is different," Kakashi tried to explain. "This isn't your average teenage angst."

"He was in a coma," the blond whispered silently, staring at Kakashi. "For six months, he was in a coma. Right?"

Itachi stared at him suddenly. "Did he tell you that?"

"He screamed it at me that day I went into his room," said Naruto. "It's true, isn't it? He was in a coma?"

The adults exchanged wary glances with each other. Naruto's eyes widened and he gasped. "Six months?!" he exclaimed. The situation hit him hard. "Six whole months?! What did he do to get into that?!"

"I think we should move on to another subject," Kakashi quickly interjected.

Naruto motioned to protest, but Tsunade placed a hand firmly over his mouth, her eyes scolding him.

"I want Sasuke to tell you," said Itachi, staring at Naruto. "I want him to trust you enough to share something like that with you."

Kisame stood, saying he'd get a wet towel to help Sasuke's fever. It was silent for the remainder of the night. Itachi didn't answer any of the questions Tsunade and Kakashi asked him. The adults soon grew tired of the silence and left. Kakashi warned Itachi not to send Sasuke to school.

The next day at school, Sasuke was there.

He was feverish and weary and still carried the effects of a dangerous hangover, but still there.

It surprised Naruto when the Uchiha entered Pre Calculus on time and ready, his eyes bloodshot and his cheeks red with fever. Sasuke sat down without a word and quietly listened to Hayate go over the lesson.

Naruto leaned over to Sasuke.

"Didn't Itachi tell you not to leave?"

Sasuke ignored him. The pounding in his head was loud enough.

Naruto wasn't pleased.

"I thought we got over this silence thing."

Sasuke yawned. He was thinking about Shop.

_I'll finish the class assignment quickly so I can work on my project. And then I'll go straight home after school to train._

"Sasuke."

_Maybe those men won't take me if I'm unconscious. And Kimimaro . . . I need to ask the Sound 5 about him. I wonder if they'll be there._

"Sasuke."

Sasuke looked up to see Shikamaru staring at him through half-lidded eyes. "Class is over," he commented, slouching and putting his hands in his pockets. He motioned with his head towards the door and turned to leave. Naruto was staring at him.

"Maybe we should visit Kakashi."

Sasuke walked away.

Kankuro greeted him when he entered, but he didn't return the greeting. He merely nodded without looking and sat down, his head spinning, his eyes drooping, and his stomach threatening to toss up whatever he'd missed last night. Kankuro, having been there and done that, narrowed his eyes. No one else was in the classroom.

"You got a hangover, kid?"

Sasuke said nothing and Kankuro immediately knew.

"You don't really seem like the type to get drunk underage."

"Yes, mother."

"Do your parents know?"

Sasuke hesitated for the slightest second, unnoticed. "Yes."

Kankuro dropped the subject, however, as soon as kids came piling in. Not even twenty minutes into class time did Sasuke finish the assignment. He cleaned up his station and handed Kankuro his finished clock exterior.

And that's when his stomach tightened.

With one hand covering his mouth and his eyes widened, Sasuke turned to Kankuro in sudden panic. Kankuro understood immediately. With the Uchiha running at top speed from the class, Kankuro called back, "And head to the nurse!"

Needless to say, Sasuke didn't go to Arabic.

He was too busy heaving over the toilet bowl in the boy's bathroom, cold sweat dripping from the tip of his nose as he dry-retched. His nose ran and his eyes watered, but he didn't dare leave his stall.

"I know you're in here."

Sasuke's heart jumped and his eyes widened. A sudden intake of breath was all the person on the other side of the stall door needed to hear.

"I don't want to break school property, so you should come out here."

"Shut up," Sasuke whispered hoarsely. He sat on the cold tiles of the stall, his back against the door and his feet bracing the base of the toilet to make sure no one could barge in on him.

Kakashi sighed. "Sasuke, why did you come to school today? Where was Itachi?"

Silence.

"Don't make this difficult."

Silence.

Kakashi sighed once more and there was a sudden rustle of clothing. "I'm sitting down," the silver-haired man said. "And I'm going to wait here, and I'm not going to move."

_Good,_ thought Sasuke. _Then those men can't get me._

When Sasuke gave no notion that he was going to obey, Kakashi decided to turn to other means of persuasion.

"And if you don't come out in the next three seconds, I'm contacting Itachi to come pick you up."

It always worked. Sasuke had the door opened before the countdown started. He stood in the most pitiful state Kakashi had seen him, looking ashen and disheveled and exactly like he'd just awakened from the dead.

"I hate you," spat Sasuke.

He meant it.

"You and your stupid therapy. You and your stupid guidance. You and your stupid decisions and your stupid persistence and the way you always try to poke your nose into every God damned piece of business of mine."

Kakashi stared up at him, still sitting casually on the floor. The bathroom was empty.

"If I recall,I volunteered to help you."

"I hate you."

He _really_ meant it. His eyes were blazing and his teeth were bared.

Yet a wave of nausea hit him and he swooned.

But he didn't dare fall.

"I'll take you home, Sasuke." Kakashi reached out to grab the Uchiha's wrist. Sasuke wrenched away.

"Don't _touch_ me."

"You really aren't well, Sasuke. Come on."

"Don't _talk_ to me."

"Don't make me use any force that I don't want to."

"I _hate_ you."

And he meant it, too.

The Uchiha took off running, having an advantage over the sitting man. No one was in the empty halls.

Without another thought, a certain door came to mind and he ran for it. Never before had he entered through the door willingly, but today was a day for change. Three heads looked up the second he came in: Sakon's (Ukon's), Jirobo's, and Kidomaru's.

One slammed the door shut, one slammed a chair down, and the other slammed Sasuke to the wall.

"Tayuya's _pregnant!"_

Sasuke blinked twice, seeing Kidomaru's snarling face and not quite understanding the words that had come from his mouth.

"Come again?"

"She's knocked up, you retard! She's _pregnant_ at eighteen!"

_She's eighteen?_

"It's better than being pregnant at sixteen, isn't it?" replied Sasuke calmly. Screaming wasn't doing well in the hangover department.

"You don't fucking _get it!"_ shouted Kidomaru. "Who was she with last night?!"

Oh.

_Oh._

_Oh shit!_

Sasuke shook his head. He didn't want to be hearing things like this. He didn't want to be spoken to. It was too much.

"So what are you going to do about it?!" **[1]**

What _was _he going to do? How would he ever explain the situation to Itachi? To Kakashi? To his _mother?_

It was too much to handle. There were too many things to take in at once. Sasuke didn't like it. His body wasn't strong enough.

So he shut himself down.

He could practically see his soul leaving his body as his eyes lidded themselves, his face grew emotionless, and his tense stature eased.

She's not pregnant, he thought manically. She's not. Because everything's perfect. Perfectly perfect.

"Nothing."

Silence.

"Nothing?!" Kidomaru spat. "_Nothing?!"_

Sasuke thought he felt some pain on his jaw, and something was trickling down his chin, but he didn't care. Not anymore, no. He didn't care about anything, anyone, anymore.

The door was wrenched open suddenly and in came none other than Naruto.

"I knew you'd be in here," the blond whispered to Sasuke. "Let go of him, Kidomaru."

"And if I don't?"

"Class is over. There are a bunch of teachers I'd like you to meet."

Kidomaru glared.

Naruto stared.

Kidomaru let go of Sasuke. "Fucking wuss," he spat, shoving the Uchiha roughly towards the blond. "Take your pet back. I'll get him later."

Naruto grabbed onto Sasuke's shirt roughly and pulled him out of the busy hall. Sasuke was like a rag doll; he practically needed to be dragged around.

"What's gotten into you?"

Sasuke didn't care enough to answer.

"Everyone's looking at you. Stop being jell-o and walk with me."

Sasuke didn't care enough to move.

Naruto had to drag him through the halls until they reached the familiar door of the guidance office. When the two entered, Kakashi wasn't surprised at all; he looked like he was rather expecting them.

"This is what I've decided to do," said Kakashi, sitting at his desk and looking at the two boys in beanbag chairs affront of him. "Sasuke, you're going to come home with me everyday."

The Uchiha gave no retort.

"You're going to be staying with me so I can monitor what you do twenty-four-seven, understood?"

"And don't try to ignore us," commented Naruto. "We're all trying to be your friend, Sasuke. We're trying to be people you can rely on."

This got Sasuke working. He turned to Naruto sharply. A bout of hysterical laughter bubbled from his lips. "Is that your definition of a friend?" he asked ominously, a menacing smile on his face.

Not knowing what would come of it, Naruto hesitantly said yes. Sasuke nodded, leaning forward.

"Then tell me, Naruto," whispered Sasuke, the smile still in place. "How can I know the definition of a friend from a person who doesn't know he has no real friends?"

"Excuse me?"

"Sasuke," warned Kakashi.

"Wait, Kakashi, I want to know what he means by that," said Naruto. "Of course I have real friends. They're all around me."

Sasuke gave a bitter laugh this time. "Do they ask you for money? Do they hang off of your every word and look at you admiringly and ask for unbelievably expensive things?"

"So what if they do?"

"They're _pretending!"_ said Sasuke. His smile grew wider. "They're only your friends because of your _money!"_

"That's not true!"

"Why do you think I didn't make any friends when I was still rich? Because I could see right through them all! I dare you to go ask one of your so-called friends for a favor and see if they'll do it!"

"Sasuke, be quiet."

"That's not true!" exclaimed Naruto, but he wasn't so sure anymore. "They're all my friends because of my personality!"

"Your _oblivious_ personality!"

"Shut up!" Naruto turned to Kakashi. "That's not true, is it Kakashi? They really do like me because of my personality, right?"

It was that split second that Kakashi hesitated that had Naruto's eyes going wide and wild.

"They're _fake?"_

"It took you _that_ long to notice?" And then came the bitter laugh again.

Naruto jolted from his seat, grasping the doorknob frantically and swinging it open. Sasuke could hear him speaking excitedly to people and was able to make out words like ". . . you fake?" or ". . . my money?"

Kakashi knelt before Sasuke, his visible eye angered beyond words. He stared at the Uchiha for a while, trying to come up with any single-worded statement to show how disappointed he was with Sasuke at the moment, but could not come up with one. He simply shook his head, told Sasuke not to move, and ran through the halls.

Sasuke, of course, did not obey.

Determination? he thought. Determination to live? Determination be damned. Who was behind him, rooting him? Who was cheering him on? Why was he so determined to not live up to the words of a dead man if no one cared to see him live?

He went home.

He didn't eat.

He didn't train.

He slept. And slept. And slept.

And who happened to come inside of his apartment?

Without any electricity, the midday sun was the only thing that lit the room. Sasuke woke from his sleep on the couch by the click of the door. Thinking it was Itachi coming home early, he leapt from the couch, all weariness erased, and helped the door open.

There was a hand on his mouth to prevent him from screaming and another around his chest to restrict his movement.

"Orochimaru wishes your presence," said the voice, and Sasuke recognized it as Kakuzu, the man that had been at the bar.

It suddenly all made sense to him now.

Kakuzu had reported to Orochimaru that Sasuke had been drunk, and that was when they went in for the kill. They were clever, Sasuke had to admit, but he wouldn't be kidnapped from his own home so easily.

With a sharp hit to his neck and oncoming darkness, he realized that yes, it _was_ easy to be kidnapped from his own home.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Where have you been?"

Eh?

Oh, he didn't remember.

"I got a call from Kakashi."

Sasuke shrugged. He rather wanted to know why his brother was home so early. It was eight pm.

"Where did you go?"

Sasuke shrugged again.

"You're not helping at all."

Shrug.

Itachi beckoned his brother over. Sasuke stared at him for a few minutes, refusing to move an inch. He had been taken to the laboratory again. They'd taken his leg and thrown him into the cell with an unconscious Kimimaro. Orochimaru had gotten closer, almost touching Sasuke's face with his own when he spoke.

"Sasuke, I'm seriously concerned about you," said Itachi. His eyes looked hollowed. His body looked thin and collapsible.

Sasuke laughed.

_Laughed._

Itachi only grew more worried. He stood to take his brother by the shoulders. "You're not alright. Something's wrong."

The laughter suddenly stopped as if it had never come. Sasuke bit his lip.

He had a plan.

"I'm going to train."

Itachi shook his head. "We need to see Kakashi."

"Itachi, please," pleaded Sasuke. "Just for half an hour. I haven't been training lately and the tournament's coming up."

"But –"

"Half an hour, I promise."

Itachi sighed, rubbing his sunken eyes. "Promise me that you'll visit Kakashi and explain what's going on." **[2]**

"I promise."

He never said when.

And so, Sasuke set his plan into action. He left the apartment door open and began his daily exercise on the steps just outside of their house.

_I have to time this,_ he thought. _It can't be too soon or too late, or he might think something's up._ He looked around the empty apartment hall. _And I know they're watching me._

He stretched, checking his prosthetic leg through his pants, and watched Itachi search for a lighter to light the candles in the house before it got too dark.

Twenty minutes later, he knew.

It was time.

Taking a deep breath, he purposely tripped himself on one of the steps and descended, falling down hard on his flesh knee and yelping in pain.

"Sasuke?"

The Uchiha watched blood flow from the hole in his jeans, feeling it seep down his leg.

"Itachi, I need your help," he stated through gritted teeth.

Itachi appeared at the door in an instant, a slender eyebrow raised and an unlit candle in his hand. "You've never asked for assistance before. Are you ill?"

"I can't move," Sasuke quickly lied.

Itachi sighed dramatically, tucking the candle into the waistband of his pants and bending down to gather his brother into his arms. "Stay on the couch and I'll –"

"No!" Sasuke quickly interrupted. He bit his lip. "We should head to the bathroom."

Itachi raised his eyebrow again. "But the first aid kit is –"

"In the bathroom!"

Itachi got the idea, but not entirely. He nodded his head. "Again? I told Kisame not to move around my things, but he never listens, does he?"

When they entered, Itachi set Sasuke down on the folded toilet seat, turned on the water, and searched through the cabinet. Sasuke put on a fake smile and spoke beneath the sound of the rushing water.

"I'm going to smile," he spoke quickly, "and I'm going to need you to smirk like I just said something funny. Don't change any facial expressions whatsoever at what I'm about to tell you."

Itachi raised an eyebrow, but his lips quirked and he was soon smirking.

"I was kidnapped."

Itachi's jaw twitched for the slightest second, but he continued to search through the cabinets, pulling out a bottle of golden liquid.

"And who told you that hilarious joke?" he asked, bending down to roll up his brother's pants.

It took Sasuke a few moments to realize that his brother was speaking in code. He let out a fake laugh and said, "There was this funny man on the street that I met and he told me it."

"I see."

"Itachi, what's that?"

Sasuke bent forward, examining his brother's hair from Itachi's kneeling position. His lips reached his brother's ear and he said, "We're being watched." Sitting back, he said, louder, "Oh, it was just a string."

Itachi began to clean the blood away with a cloth and the rushing water. He looked up briefly. "Well, why can't you pass on this joke? It's amazing."

Knowing that Sasuke would be unable to answer in code, he stood up, saying he'd get the alcohol. His head collided painfully with the open door of the medicine cabinet and he let out a hiss.

"Itachi, you're bleeding!" exclaimed Sasuke. "Let me check that for you."

"I don't think it's serious," acted Itachi, but he complied anyway and allowed his brother's lips by his ear once more. He could feel Sasuke's hands shaking.

"They said they'd . . ." His voice wavered. "They'd k-kill you."

Itachi stared at Sasuke, about to tell him that he'd be fine, but he noticed his brother's eyes begin to turn red and his bottom lip begin to quiver.

"And they'd . . . they'd . . . t-take m-mom off of life support."

There was silence for a while. Nothing but the rushing water from the faucet was heard for a while. Itachi stood up, sighing.

"That cut is too deep," he said. "Can you move?"

Sasuke shook his head, staring at the floor so no one looking in could see his eyes.

"I'll have to take you to see Tsunade, then. It's pretty bad."

If he knew it wouldn't have looked suspicious, Sasuke would have hugged Itachi then and there.

_The man's a genius!_

No one would be able to enter the hospital without reason, let alone Tsunade's office!

Itachi turned off the faucet and gathered Sasuke in his arms again. He blew the remaining candles out, Sasuke still in his arms, grabbed the keys from the table next to the door, and left. His ears remained alert for any possible signs of intruders.

They took the car for speed. Sasuke kept dozing off, his head lolling to the side in the passenger's seat, but then he'd catch himself and jerk back up. Itachi smirked at this despite the situation.

"I don't think they can hear us," said Sasuke, turning around to stare out the windows into the darkness of the night.

"Explain yourself."

Sasuke sighed, placing one hand to his head. He felt nauseated once more from the movement of the car.

"Remember when I . . . got drunk?"

_"Tayuya's pregnant!"_

Itachi nodded his head.

"When I ran out, I collapsed. That's when this blond guy took me." Sasuke rubbed one eye. "He'd been following me for a while and I saw him a few times before."

"Do you know where they took you?"

Sasuke shook his head. "The guy knocked me out."

The car stopped moving suddenly. Despite being able to walk, Itachi took Sasuke in his arms anyway. Sasuke didn't protest. His sick stomach and terrible hangover came crashing onto him.

Shizune greeted them as always and told them that Tsunade was, indeed, present within her office. Knowing the way, Itachi and Sasuke were silent walking through the halls.

_Knock, knock._

_"She's knocked up . . .!"_

Sasuke groaned.

Tsunade opened the door suddenly, her eyebrows furrowed. When she spotted Itachi, they softened, but she frowned when she saw Sasuke.

"There's nothing I can give him for the hangover but water," she said rather callously.

"This is more important than that."

And when Itachi said it, he meant it.

Tsunade's face suddenly took on an expression of urgency as she ushered the two Uchihas inside, telling them to be quiet. She motioned towards two plastic seats.

Sasuke sat down when Itachi released him and noticed a familiar presence sleeping on the bed in Tsunade's office.

It was Naruto.

His closed eyes were rimmed red and tear tracks glistened in the light. There was a hitch in his breathing, but he was fast asleep.

_Hello, Sasuke. My name is Guilt, and I shall forever be your friend!_

Tsunade caught the Uchiha staring and said, "He told me he had no friends."

Sasuke turned away.

"I'm guessing you had something to do with this?"

"I told him the truth, that's all," Sasuke snapped hoarsely. He shifted in his seat and wished the fluorescent lighting above him would stop being so bright.

"Lady Tsunade, I'm sorry to interrupt, but there are more important matters," said Itachi. "We came here knowing no one could ever hear us if we spoke."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow. "How important?"

"Sasuke's been kidnapped."

Tsunade didn't take is seriously at all. She stared from Itachi to Sasuke and her blond eyebrow only rose higher. ". . . Of course he has."

Sasuke had_ so many_ comments for what she had said, but the bile rising in his throat forced him to hold them down. He didn't like explaining things, so he waited for Itachi to tell her the entire story.

Of course, he didn't like the loud, pounding exclamation she gave once everything got through.

"Those dirty bastards!" she continued. "Playing with life cards! Itachi, I assure you we can contact the police about this. I'll station guards around your mother to make sure –"

"No!" interrupted Sasuke. "Never! I'm not taking _any_ chances with my mother's life!"

"I have to agree with Sasuke, Lady Tsunade," said Itachi. "We can't be sure they don't have other contacts."

Tsunade sighed. "I'm going to contact Kakashi after this," she said. "In order for Sasuke to be taken again, he needs to be isolated, right? Then we'll always have someone with him twenty-four-seven."

"My work –"

"You won't have to leave your work. Naruto will be with him."

_I'm not sure he'll want to be around me after what I told him._

Itachi sighed and leaned forward on his knees. "As if life couldn't get any worse . . ."

Tsunade's expression softened. She placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder. "Why don't the two of you stay the night at our house? We can invite Kakashi and talk this over. Sasuke still has a lot of explanations to give."

"I've got work in the morning that I can't get out of."

"But didn't we say we couldn't leave Sasuke alone?"

There was a brief silence in the room as Itachi thought it over. He thought that it _was_ possible for someone to come in during the few hours Sasuke was sleeping. He turned to stare at Tsunade.

"That says it, then," said Tsunade, smiling. "I'll take Sasuke for the night until we can figure things out."

_She's probably going to try and get me to apologize to Naruto._

"Is that okay with you, Sasuke?"

"You'd make me go either way."

"We're doing this for your safety."

"My name and safety don't do well together in the same sentence."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] On Tayuya's pregnancy -** Okay, so how would YOU react? Keep this concept in mind (the pregnancy) because I plan to take it with me into the next few chapters, okay? Don't freak out just yet!!

**[2] ". . . and explain what's going on." - **Has anyone noticed that no one's had a chance to get a complete explanation out of Sasuke yet?


	12. Care

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I would piss of my readers with the Power of Procrastination.

**Author's Note:** S.P.R.I.N.G. B.R.E.A.K.!

That means I get to work on this story while I procrastinate the homework I've been given!

And now for a peeved note from our producers to the readers:

**!!!DO NOT MAKE ASSUMPTIONS.!!!  
**People, come _on._ Some of you complained about the pregnancy thing in the last chapter. One of you even called it "silly." Please, please, _please_ do not make assumptions with this story. Every event, every word, every joke has a reason to be in here! Remember, think of this thing as a published novel, except it's getting handed to you in parts.

Thank you. =)

And now for a brighter note: for those of you who are sick of the inhuman suffering, read this chapter, and then prepare yourselves for the possibility of a brighter future.

Possibility.

**Chapter 12  
**…**:::Care:::…  
****Akanishi Jin**

**Warning: Language . . . again. Oh well.**

Sasuke spoke to no one when Itachi bid him farewell. Tsunade tried to get him into futile conversation. He knew she wanted answers, but it was entertaining to ignore her. He had to content himself with fiddling with his neon orange shoelaces until her shift ended. A wave of nausea overtook him halfway through and he spent the rest of the time with his head leaning back, trying desperately to not vomit. Very randomly, he would giggle. For no reason. Tsunade would simply stare at him as if he was – and it was possible – insane.

Sighing, Tsunade gently moved to wake Naruto up, giving a stern look towards Sasuke that silently told him to _shut the hell up or die._

Naruto groaned in his sleep. "Go away," he mumbled, swatting at Tsunade's hand.

"Naruto, come on," said Tsunade softly. "It's time to go home. You should get some rest."

Naruto sat upright, rubbing at his sapphire eyes wearily. "What's the point?" he whispered, only half-serious. His eyes roamed over the room instinctively. When he caught sight of Sasuke, he stared briefly, locking eyes with blank sable orbs until he forced himself to look away, frowning.

"Why is he here?" he muttered to the ground.

"Sasuke's going to stay the night today."

"_Why?"_

"Because the world hates me," Sasuke replied in monotone, moving one hand to cover his burning forehead. He giggled and then frowned once more.

Tsunade grimaced. "It's a long story that I'll tell you once we get home. You boys both need your sleep."

Sasuke replied with a groan. Naruto replied with a dark look. Tsunade ushered them from the room and down to the parking lot. Sasuke, who was walking slowly behind the two, had trouble on foot. He staggered and stumbled over his feet, thankful that the night's darkness hid his embarrassments.

The familiar sight of the Uzumaki mansion towered ahead, unseen by Sasuke, whose head was leaning against the cushions of the BMW® with closed eyes as Tsunade drove. The gates opened upon their arrival. No one was there to greet Tsunade by the door.

Sasuke had trouble walking up the stairs to the mansion. He constantly found himself tripping and falling painfully on his already-injured knee.

"Is there something wrong with that leg of yours?" Tsunade called to him after seeing him trip and fall once more.

Sasuke shook his head, determined to make it up the stairs without another slip.

"Naruto, he'll be sleeping in your room," explained Tsunade when they were all safely into the house.

"What?" exclaimed Naruto suddenly, eyes wide. "Why? We've got plenty of guestrooms!"

"He can't be left alone tonight. Sasuke, go ahead to Naruto's room. Itachi dropped off some of your clothes while we were in the hospital, so I want you to change into your pajamas and go right to sleep. We've set up another bed." Tsunade turned to Naruto. "I need to talk to you."

Sasuke wasn't about to argue over sleep. He would do anything to lose the pounding in his skull. Slowly, he dragged himself upstairs. Tsunade and Naruto heard the occasional _thud_ whenever Sasuke would stagger and drop.

A pile of neatly-folded clothes awaited him on a mattress set up in the corner of the room. He quickly changed from his uncomfortable jeans into his pajamas and dropped onto the mattress without a second thought.

Naruto came into the room a while later. Sasuke pretended to be asleep, hearing the blond roam the room for a while before heading into the bathroom.

The night grew old and still Sasuke could not sleep; a lack of chamomile was merely one of the hundred reasons. He could feel the sweat slick on his body. His eyes ached to close, but when he closed them, they ached to open. Several times, a wave of nausea would hit him and so he'd lay there, the darkness pressing at his eyes, his mouth shut tight, and his breathing harsh.

It began to become worse as the night progressed. The urge to vomit was so great that Sasuke found himself jumping from his bed to run into the bathroom, kneeling by the toilet to empty his stomach's contents. His throat burned. His eyes watered. His nose ran. And it all just _hurt._

Naruto mentally counted to six. Six times, Sasuke had run from his bed to the bathroom. He had been awake for all six of them, grimacing at the gut-wrenching noises. The seventh time Sasuke had run to the toilet, Naruto heard him give a contortion of a sob and a snort. A bout of giggles followed and Naruto's heart raced slightly. It was eerily creepy to hear the Uchiha laugh in such a manner.

_"Damn,"_ he heard Sasuke whisper before the sound of dry-retches came.

Naruto had enough. He shoved a pillow roughly onto his head and closed his eyes. Sasuke would have to deal with whatever himself.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

When the morning came, Naruto cracked his eyes open, weary due to lack of sleep, and searched for any sign of Sasuke's body on the mattress beside him. The sheets were in a tangled mess and vacant.

Sighing, Naruto headed into his bathroom to see the damage Sasuke had done.

It smelled surprisingly clean, like the orange-scented air freshener Naruto kept in his cupboards. Looking to his left, he realized it _was_ his air freshener. The can stood erect on the cover of the toilet seat.

Sasuke was asleep on the floor, twisted in an unusual position. Although his upper body lay on its back, his legs were turned to the left, slanting his waist. His shirt clung to his torso by a layer of sweat. One of his limp hands was over his stomach; the other lay by his head, covered in a dark liquid.

Naruto, propelled by curiosity, inspected the liquid.

Blood.

The palm of Sasuke's hand was spattered with blood from a nonexistent cut. Naruto searched the rest of Sasuke's body. A trickle of blood had dried on the side of the boy's mouth. Naruto put two and two together.

Alert suddenly, he knelt down and shook Sasuke. "Hey, Sasuke!" he said loudly. "Sasuke, wake up!" All traces of anger were erased in an instant.

Sasuke groaned in his subconscious state.

"Sasuke, come on!"

Naruto roughly pushed him, forcing the Uchiha to roll over. Sasuke groaned once more and finally cracked open his eyelids. When the fluorescent lighting hit his sensitive pupils, he closed his eyes tightly and turned his head away.

"What are you doing in my house again, Uzumaki?" Sasuke croaked out hoarsely. His bloodshot eyes finally found the strength to stare at Naruto.

"You're in _my_ house."

The memories of last night washed over Sasuke's body like a wave would torment a shell cast out onto the sandy shores. He brought his hand up to his face and grimaced.

"Were you coughing up blood?" asked Naruto, looking at the dried trickles closely.

"No."

"_Were_ you?"

The blond grabbed the Uchiha roughly by the shoulders. He'd had enough of Sasuke's bullshit. He wanted answers _now._

"Stay out of th–"

Sasuke erupted into a fitful of coughs, his chest convulsing violently with every outtake of breath. He pushed Naruto away when the blond tried to help. His coughs turned into dry-retches and he headed for the toilet bowl.

"I'm going to get Granny," the blond said sternly, jumping to his feet.

"Don't!"

Sasuke didn't look human.

In that split second, Naruto thought Sasuke looked like a lion out of the Discovery Channel. His eyes were animalistic and wild. His teeth were bared into a snarl. Fresh blood glistened on his lips and pearls, as if he had bitten wildly into his prey.

Naruto ignored him and ran to his door, calling for Tsunade from the railings of the stairs.

"What do you want, brat?" the woman asked when she appeared in the doorway, fully-dressed and awake. "I told you not to scream in the morning."

Naruto wordlessly pulled her into the bathroom where Sasuke was desperately trying to clean the blood from his face, all-the-while dry-retching in the sink where water gushed from the faucet. It had turned pink from the amount of both dried and fresh blood.

Tsunade grabbed a hold of Sasuke's head despite the Uchiha's struggles. She forcefully pulled on his chin to open his mouth. It was a cave of blood and the stench of vomit.

"What have you been doing?" she asked him, letting go.

"I'm getting ready for school," Sasuke spat back.

"You can't go to school like that," Naruto said.

"He has to."

"_What?!"_

"He has to go to school, but he won't take any classes." She turned the faucet off. "He's going to be staying with Kakashi in his office."

Sasuke snarled once more. He didn't like the plans that were made without him. He tried to fend himself from Tsunade, but her grip on her arm was strong. "Have you been coughing up blood?"

"He was throwing up the whole night," said Naruto. Sasuke shot him a dirty look.

Tsunade pushed Sasuke forward. "Take a shower and meet me downstairs dressed and ready for school, understand?"

Sasuke said nothing, waiting for Tsunade and a reluctant Naruto to leave the bathroom before beginning to shed his clothes.

The water was relaxing against his skin and he had half a mind to close his eyes and sleep, but forced himself awake. If he ever wanted to get out of the house, going to school was his only chance.

When he cleared the fog away from the mirror after his shower, he stared at his reflection. Certainly, he _did_ look horrible. His eyes were terribly bloodshot and the bags beneath them did no justice. Trying not to vomit once more, Sasuke slowly and sluggishly moved out of the bathroom with nothing but a towel around his waist. Naruto was nowhere to be seen. Sasuke took the time to his advantage and quickly dressed in the khaki pants and black t-shirt Itachi had left him.

Tsunade was at the breakfast table with a medicine kit affront of her. Pancakes were stacked onto one large dish with a pitcher of syrup and a pitcher of orange juice next to them.

"Sit," Tsunade ordered.

He sat.

"I want to make sure whether or not the blood is in your stomach or just a scratch from your throat," she said, taking Sasuke's jaw into her hands. Sasuke grimaced at the amount of squeezing she was doing. She noticed this and sighed.

"Sorry," she said in a softer tone. "I've been harsh on you lately, haven't I?"

"Nothing new," Sasuke muttered darkly, rubbing his jaw when she let go.

"You just haven't been helping, Sasuke," she continued. "You don't want to be helped by anyone. Drink this."

Sasuke drank the glass of water she handed to him in a swift chug. "It's because I don't need your help."

"So when you end up dead because you choked on your own blood, don't haunt me when you're in hell. Open your mouth."

Tsunade stuck a swab of cotton on a stick into Sasuke's throat, being gentle so as not to test his gag reflexes. She retrieved it a few seconds later. The cotton was bright with scarlet blood.

"It's a scratch," she said. "All of the vomiting you've been doing must've irritated your throat."

"So now what?"

"So now, you don't eat anything completely solid for a while, or drink anything other than water lest you irritate your throat into something dangerous. When was the last time you ate?"

"I had a huge meal before we visited you, so I should be fine," Sasuke lied. He grimaced inwardly. His stomach begged to be fed after all the food he'd lost from standing over the toilet. The pancakes looked ultimately inviting.

"Are you sure you're going to be alright with not eating for a while?" Tsunade asked, a genuine patch of worry in her expression. "All the food you ate must've been thrown up and you don't look very well. You're going to need energy."

"I'll be fine."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

He wasn't fine.

His head was dizzy from lack of food. The room continuously spun and it took several blinks and a light slap on his cheeks to prevent it from doing so. Naruto, who had come down from a shower of his own, sat at the breakfast table and asked for a schedule of the day.

"Why aren't you eating anything?" he asked Sasuke.

"Why are you so happy after what I've done?" replied Sasuke.

Indeed, the blond looked absolutely radiant, a smile like no other adorning his face. No longer was he crying over the knowledge of his fake friends. That, and the fact that he was still talking to Sasuke.

"It's because my _real_ friends called me last night," he said. "They wanted to make sure I was okay and even offered to sneak out of their houses. I _do_ have real friends, Uchiha. Even if I only had _one_ real friend, at least I have one." He began digging into his pancakes. "Why aren't you eating?" he repeated.

"I already ate."

Tsunade raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway," she said. "I'm going to drop the two of you off at school before I head to work. I've already informed Kakashi about everything. Naruto, you're going to head to your classes normally. Sasuke, you're going to go to Kakashi's office and stay there where no one can get to you. If Kakashi ever leaves, he'll lock his door."

"What about after school?" asked Naruto, now shoving pancakes into his mouth. Sasuke looked away.

"The two of you are going to head to Sasuke's house to wait for Itachi to come home. He'll be home early. I'll be calling you every half hour to check up on the two of you, okay?"

Sasuke said nothing. Naruto nodded.

School was hell.

Naruto helped a reluctant Sasuke into the deserted building. The Uchiha was having troubles standing on his own.

"How much did you eat?" the blond asked worriedly, seeing Sasuke sway.

"A lot. I'm just tired, that's all."

And Naruto bought it.

Kakashi didn't.

When they knocked on his office door, the man greeted them cheerfully, telling them to take a seat. He commented on how horrible Sasuke looked and asked how the boy was feeling.

"Like shit."

"Fair enough."

Naruto got ready to leave for classes a while later. Sasuke outstretched one arm, telling Naruto to wait.

"Do me a favor," he said. "Ask the Sound 5 about Kimimaro, okay? Tell them Sasuke wants to know. Speak to Kidomaru; he'll be the most willing to talk."

And with a promise, Naruto left, leaving Kakashi alone with a swaying Uchiha.

"Okay, what's really going down?" asked Kakashi, his eyebrows furrowing. "Lady Tsunade told me you'd been throwing up quite a lot."

"I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything except water," murmured Sasuke. He laid his head down on another beanbag chair. "I hurt my throat throwing up and can't irritate it."

"When was the last time you ate?"

Sasuke racked his brain, trying to remember. He hadn't eaten anything at all yesterday, having been unable to hold anything down in the morning. And the day before that, it had just been breakfast.

"Breakfast the day before yesterday."

Which was probably gone by then.

Kakashi's eyes grew wide. "You haven't eaten anything for two days?" he said incredulously. Sasuke nodded his head.

"I'll be fine. By the time Itachi comes home, I should be able to eat something."

He leaned tiredly into the beanbag chair, sinking in.

"Sleep, Sasuke," said Kakashi, turning back to the computer as he heard the even breaths of the Uchiha. He had desperately wanted to interrogate the Uchiha, but thought it wasn't the best time. "Sleep." **[1]**

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Naruto came in several times during his breaks, checking up on Sasuke. Indeed, Naruto's personality did not allow him to hold a grudge when worry took up most of his thoughts.

The Uchiha had not stirred since he had fallen asleep at the beginning of the day. Naruto was forced to reluctantly wake him up when it was time to leave. Sasuke stared around blankly, his eyes only slightly bloodshot.

"Come on, Sasuke," said Naruto. "We have to go to your house."

Sasuke didn't protest. He didn't even remember where he was. He simply rubbed his eyes wearily and stood, swaying in place. Kakashi became worried. "I'll drive the two of you home," he said. "Sasuke's in no condition to walk and I don't want you to carry him, Naruto."

Sasuke _still_ didn't protest, even when Kakashi helped him out of the car, even when Kakashi picked him up into a bride's carry when he could not walk, even when they took the elevator instead of the stairs.

Kakashi laid Sasuke on the couch and bid the two boys farewell. He said Itachi would be home no later than eight.

"Kakashi told me you'd need water," said Naruto, setting down a pitcher he'd retrieved from the kitchen. Sasuke thanked him quietly, laying one arm over his eyes.

"If you want to eat anything, go ahead," he said. "We've only got dry foods for now. Our refrigerator's out."

Naruto nodded despite knowing Sasuke could not see him. He set down his bag and took out a textbook. "We've only got History homework today."

"What did they say?"

"What?"

Sasuke had turned abruptly to stare intently at Naruto, all traces of weariness temporarily erased.

"What did the Sound 5 say when you asked them about Kimimaro?" he repeated. "Were they worried?"

Naruto thought back, crossing his arms over his chest. "It was only Kidomaru and that big kid in the room," he said after a while. "I had to persuade him pretty strongly, but he's easy to persuade. He said he hadn't seen Kimimaro for a while and that he never came home. He said that was all the information I was going to get."

Sasuke sighed, finding a dead-end, but Naruto carried on.

"I left, but I waited and listened by the door, just in case. He talked to that big kid about how worried he was. He said something about no sleep and something else about a window, but there were too many kids in the hall to hear." Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Why'd you ask in the first place?"

"I'll tell you later," Sasuke said dismissively.

After a lengthy moment of silence, Naruto suddenly jolted. "Oh!" he said, remembering. "Kidomaru told me to tell you something, too!"

Sasuke turned to stare intently at the blond once more.

"I don't know what he meant. All he said was that 'it's not yours,' or something like that. He said he jumped to conclusions, and that 'it's been a month'." **[2]**

As Naruto sat there, confused, Sasuke's eyes widened.

_"Tayuya's pregnant!"_

He hadn't thought about it for a while.

It wasn't his.

It wasn't?

Of course it wasn't!

It _wasn't his!_

He dropped back onto the couch, letting go of a breath he didn't know he held. One silly worry was cleared from his mind in an instant. 1,268 left.

He didn't know what overcame him, but a familiar giggle escaped his lips. Naruto's head perked at the unfamiliar sound coming from the Uchiha. Sasuke's giggle turned into quiet laughter, his eyes blank and unblinking.

"Are you . . . okay?"

The laughter stopped.

Sasuke said nothing.

Naruto grew worried and afraid.

There was silence in the house for a while. Naruto finished his homework, stealing glances at Sasuke's unmoving figure every now and then. The sun began to hide itself behind the horizon. Naruto, having thought Sasuke to have finally fallen asleep, was surprised when the Uchiha suddenly stood.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

Sasuke walked to the fireplace and retrieved a lighter. "I have to light the candles before it gets dark."

"Do you need help?"

_Click._

Three candles glowed suddenly on the coffee table. Sasuke shook his head in their light. Naruto watched him go through the process deftly.

_"Get your motor running . . . Head out on the highway! Looking for adv –" _**[3]**

"Yes, Granny?"

It was the seventh time Naruto had answered to his grandmother.

"We're just lighting the candles now. We're perfectly fine. Alright. Okay. Bye."

Naruto pocketed his cell phone, sighing. Sasuke had four candles left to take care of.

The door rattled. Sasuke, in the kitchen now, did not hear it. Naruto shrugged it off as nothing but the wind.

"Naruto," said Sasuke, reentering with the lighter at hand. "Hungry?"

"Shouldn't you rest? You're still swaying."

"I'll –"

_BANG!_

The door flew open, swinging to hit the wall. Two shadowed figures entered. Naruto gasped. Sasuke jumped. The figures headed for him.

He knew.

"Think you're clever, do you?" one of the figures asked aggressively.

Hidan.

"Do you think you can stop us from trying to take you?"

Someone was twisting his arm painfully behind his back. Sasuke yelled in agony. He desperately tried to click the lighter to life, but Hidan – he was sure it was Hidan, now – wrenched it from his grasp before kicking Sasuke in the back of the knees so that the Uchiha collapsed.

"Sasuke!" Naruto cried. Sasuke turned to stare at where Naruto was being held by his hair by Kakuzu.

"We've waited long enough," said Hidan. "It's time for you to come with us."

"You're not taking him!"

Naruto suddenly screamed in agony. Kakuzu flung the boy to the floor painfully and stepped on the square of his back, digging his heel into his shoulder blade.

"Get _off_ of him!" Sasuke roared. He struggled in Hidan's grasp.

Hidan, fed up, punched Sasuke at his temple, jerking the Uchiha to the ground. He straddled the boy on his chest and smirked.

"Orochimaru's getting impatient. He told me to make sure you wouldn't be a hassle when I brought you in, so I'm just going to make some precautions."

He slammed his fist into Sasuke's gut, earning a strangled yell from Sasuke's throat.

"Sasuke!"

"Quiet!" Kakuzu snapped. He dug his foot deeper into Naruto's back.

Sasuke struggled from beneath Hidan, trying his best to worm away, but he was _too tired._ He had no strength or energy to fight back at all. With a weary hand, he sent a poor punch towards Hidan's jaw.

"What's this?" Hidan teased, pinching Sasuke's chin between his cold fingers. "Kitty's trying to fight back?"

"Fuck you," Sasuke spat – literally _spat_ at Hidan.

Hidan roared in rage, wiping the spit from his cheek with the back of his hand. He jerked Sasuke's head to the side with another powerful clout to his cheek.

"Orochimaru wants him _alive,_" spoke Kakuzu from the shadows.

"Fucking brat needs an attitude adjustment!"

Hidan finally stood and grabbed Sasuke by the front of his shirt, pulling the Uchiha up. Everything spun in Sasuke's vision. A dull throbbing was beginning to form in his head.

Kakuzu pulled Naruto up as well. "What are we going to do with this one?"

"Kill him, I guess," shrugged Hidan.

Naruto's eyes grew wide and fearful.

"Don't touch him!" barked Sasuke suddenly, beginning to struggle in Hidan's grasp again. "If you touch him, I'll make your life hell!"

Kakuzu smirked beneath his mask. "You mean like this?" He pulled fiercely on Naruto's hair. The blond tried his best not to scream. "What are you going to do, kitty? Scratch me?"

Sasuke lunged forward. His shirt ripped from the strain he caused it. Instead of reaching Kakuzu, however, he found himself on the floor, screaming and writhing in agony. Hidan had sent a deadly kick aimed at his head.

"Sasuke!"

The Uchiha was in the fetal position on the floor, grabbing the sides of his head as he tried to stop his screaming. Hidan booted him in the side of his ribs, turning Sasuke over.

"Stop it!" Naruto pleaded. "Stop! _Stop!"_

Hidan finally picked up the Uchiha again, relishing in the way blood streamed down his porcelain face, matted his ebony hair, and dripped into his mouth as he cried in pain.

"Just knock the kid unconscious," ordered Hidan, beginning to drag Sasuke from the house. "Hurry up."

Kakuzu nodded. He forced Naruto to the floor and with one swift kick to the cheek, Naruto was sprawled, motionless. Kakuzu made sure to close the door on the way out.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

The phone kept ringing.

And ringing.

And ringing.

_"Born to be wild! Born to be wild!"_

_"Brat! You'd better have a good reason for not answering your cell phone! I'm calling back in ten minutes!"_

_"I like smoke and lightning . . . Heavy metal thunder! Racing with the wind . . . and the feeling that I'm under!"_

_"That's it, brat. I'm calling Kakashi."_

Kakashi met Itachi as he was heading to check up on the boys. He explained to the older Uchiha that Naruto wasn't answering his cell phone. Itachi said that Naruto had probably gotten fed up with his grandmother calling every half hour.

Although it was dark, there were still lights that lit the halls of the apartment. Itachi and Kakashi calmly headed out of the elevator, both work-weary.

And then they spotted it.

Blood.

A _trail_ of blood.

"Calm down, Itachi," Kakashi said, catching the hitch in the Uchiha's breath. "It could be anyone's."

But Itachi's mind raced when the trail of blood disappeared beneath _his_ apartment door. He exchanged a worried glance with Kakashi before turning the doorknob.

It was unlocked.

"Sasuke?" Itachi called hesitantly. The room was lit with dying candles.

"Naruto?"

There, on the floor, lay the motionless Naruto. Dried blood caked one side of his face. Kakashi gave an exclamation of surprise and knelt down to inspect the boy. Itachi was too busy looking for his little brother.

"Naruto! Naruto, wake up!" Kakashi cried desperately, taking the blonde's head in his hands.

"Kakashi, Sasuke's gone!"

Itachi was back in the living room, aiding Kakashi as they tried to revive Naruto for answers. "Come on, Naruto!"

Naruto woke with a sob. His face contorted into one of utmost pain.

"I'm sorry," he croaked out. He kept his eyes shut, but he knew who was holding him so gently. "I'm so, so sorry."

"What happened?"

"Where's Sasuke?" whispered Itachi. Naruto couldn't meet his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Itachi," he said before completely breaking down into tears. "I couldn't do anything."

"Naruto, where's Sasuke?" the Uchiha asked more forcefully.

". . . They took him," he whispered, choking on his sobs. "They hurt him so bad . . ."

"Who took him, Naruto? Were there any names?"

Naruto could only remember one:

"Orochimaru."

Kakashi cursed beneath his breath, turning around to the darkness as if looking for something. He held Naruto close to him. Itachi removed his shirt and pressed it to the side of the blonde's head, hoping to stem the blood flow.

"We have to contact authorities," said Kakashi. "Let's get Naruto to the hospital and plan everything from there."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"What do they _do_ to you up there?"

Someone was brushing something against his head. It hurt.

"Uchiha, wake up. I need to know you're alright."

He didn't want to wake up.

"Uchiha, _please."_

There was pain. Too much of it.

"Sasuke."

But that voice . . .

Sasuke saw white hair in his vision.

Kimimaro.

"Kimimaro?" the Uchiha questioned softly, staring up into emerald eyes of the Kaguya. Bruises covered most of the white-haired boy's handsome face, but the blood had been somewhat cleaned off.

"Don't try to move," he continued. "You're in horrible shape."

Sasuke didn't need Kimimaro to know that he was hurt. He could feel his leg in place, however. His eyes once again searched for any reason for Kimimaro to be in such a place and once again, found nothing.

The white-haired Kaguya was brushing a shirt against the side of Sasuke's head. "You've lost a lot of blood," he whispered. "Moving will only make you dizzy. Stay awake, okay?"

"What are they going to do?" croaked the Uchiha, closing his eyes again against the pain.

The two boys were in the all-too-familiar cell, its musty smell intoxicating. Kimimaro gently propped Sasuke's upper torso into his lap for better access to his wounds.

"I heard them speak of keeping you overnight."

Sasuke groaned. "How long have you been here?"

"Since the last time you saw me."

Sasuke turned his pounding head sharply upwards to face Kimimaro. "You mean they haven't let you go at all?"

"There is really no one to let me go _to_."

Sasuke closed his mouth for a few moments before opening it again. He turned back to let his head rest in the space Kimimaro's folded legs created and closes his eyes.

"The Sound 5 cares about you," he said.

Kimimaro took the statement in silence, still brushing the shirt against the blood.

"They may not be the best people to go back to in my point of view, but at least they care."

Forced silence killed all conversation in the room for a while. Sasuke's head pounded, eliminating any thoughts he planned on having.

Footsteps suddenly echoed in the dimly-lit hallways. Kimimaro's head perked, whispering, "They can't . . ."

Hidan's face sneered from behind the bars. "Awake, I see," he teased, indicating Sasuke.

"Are you here to take him back?" asked Kimimaro, eyes fierce. His hands unconsciously cradled Sasuke's head.

"Stay out of this, boy. Your time will come," spat Hidan.

"You can't put him back into experiments only an hour after you've finished!" Kimimaro was yelling angrily now. Sasuke didn't understand why. "He'll die!"

Oh.

Hidan rattled the bars to the cell. "You don't hold the power over anyone right now! Know your place, kid! We can take him in whether we want to or not!"

And he began to unlock the cells. Kimimaro quickly bent over Sasuke's puzzled figure, holding his head protectively. "At least wait another hour for his body to recover."

"Orochimaru wants him _now."_

"No!"

Hidan swung at Kimimaro's face, jerking the boy away from Sasuke's body and onto the concrete floor. Sasuke looked dazedly into Hidan's eyes, not fully comprehending what was going on until pain erupted in his arms and shoulders. Hidan pulled on him fiercely, practically dragging the boy from the cell to his death.

Sasuke screamed as he was dragged, struggling as fiercely as his broken figure would allow. Kimimaro recovered quickly and lunged at Hidan. He effectively brought the man down to the floor.

"Move, Uchiha!" the white-haired boy screamed, having a hard time keeping the larger man down.

But Sasuke couldn't move.

It hurt too much to move.

"You're going to die for this, Kaguya!" Hidan screamed as he struggled beneath the grasp of the younger man. He turned the tables and now straddled the younger man. In one swift movement, his hand grabbed at the skin above Kimimaro's right pectoral and squeezed. Kimimaro's chest convulsed and he let out a series of coughs, becoming more violent the harder Hidan squeezed.

Sasuke was still trying to focus on what was going on. He painfully shifted on the floor, barely making it to his legs before he collapsed. He watched Hidan continue to squeeze Kimimaro's skin with a twisted smile on his face.

"We have the power to kill you and no one will care!" screamed Hidan in a manic tone, twisting his hand. "No one –"

_Thud._

There was silence for a long while. Hidan's head fell to the concrete earth, unconscious, as Kimimaro's hand fell limply. The boy lay on his back as he attempted to control his breathing, taking in long gasps of breaths. After what seemed to be several minutes, Kimimaro turned to Sasuke with his green, green eyes.

"Uchiha," he said, his voice scratchy. "We can get out of here."

Very slowly, very painfully, Kimimaro managed to sway to his feet, inching to the Uchiha and outstretching an arm.

"The door's open and all we need to do is walk out."

Sasuke felt himself get pulled up, giving small yelps of pain every now and then as he was half-dragged through hallways unknown. Kimimaro said something about knowing where everything was.

Sasuke wasn't listening, though.

Silence was blocking his ears.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Konoha Hospital was flooded with policemen. Kakashi, Itachi, and Tsunade stood amidst them, their eyes watching the lights of the cop cars from outside cast flickering reds and blues onto the whiteness of the hospital walls. The chief stood by the three adults, a radio in hand.

"I've broken my men up into four search crews, Lad Tsunade," he told them sharply. "Two of them have a lead."

"And England?" asked Tsunade.

It had been an hour since the police had been called and briefed on the situation at hand. Tsunade had told them about Mikoto Uchiha and put emphasis on extra precaution with her life. Kakashi had told the chief about the name Orochimaru. The chief, surprised, laughed despite the situation. He said they'd been trying to find Orochimaru since August for illegal experimentations.

"I've contacted them in London. We've placed Mrs. Uchiha's life support machines on a secret backup generator so that if anyone was to ever cut off her main supply, the generator would work immediately."

Tsunade excused herself to check on Naruto. Itachi rubbed his hands over his face, giving a deep sigh. It wasn't a frustrated sigh. It was a sigh of both relief and weariness. Kakashi patted him on the shoulder.

"You manage to get yourselves in the weirdest of situations sometimes, Uchiha," the older man said, half-joking and half-sympathetic.

"Tell me about it," the Uchiha grumbled in reply.

"I would, but you already know the whole story."

Itachi sat down and stared at the older man. "How can you joke about this so freely?" he said, slight agitation lacing his voice.

Kakashi took a seat next to him and patted his knees once. "Well, Itachi, if you don't allow yourself joke about the tough times, you'll let all the depressing things get to you, and that'll only make everything seem hopeless."

Silence came between them for a while before Itachi turned to the older man and smirked. "I expected nothing less from a guidance counselor with a degree in Psychology."

"See! That was a joke right there!"

But when Itachi had closed his eyes and leaned his head back, the wrinkles next to Kakashi's eyes disappeared and the man's face set itself into a frown. He didn't feel like telling Itachi that joking about a serious situation was just another form of denial.

An hour passed by with no progress. Itachi passed the time with an accidental nap. He woke with a temporarily imprint of his hand on his cheek. Kakashi had paced the entire hospital, practically memorizing every door and sign, every tile on every floor and ceiling.

"We found him."

The announcement was sudden and not fully comprehended. Tsunade came in behind the chief to endorse the statement. She planted her hands firmly on her hips and nodded, watching Itachi and Kakashi stand up in alert.

"Seriously?" asked Kakashi incredulously.

"They're being wheeled in and examined as we speak."

The chief pocketed his radio and stood at full height. "Uchiha Sasuke and an unknown boy were found by one of our units by the riverbed three miles from here. Our other three units are searching for any sign of Orochimaru or any possible associates."

Itachi's expression remained unwaveringly indifferent. His eyes regained their blank, emotionless state as he attempted to suppress a sudden mixture of emotions. The only motion he dared to give was a long, deep bow to the officer, expressing his thanks. Kakashi soon followed suit.

"Don't dwell on it, men," said the chief, followed by the ever-so-cliché statement: "I'm just doing my job."

"Can we see him?"

"Wait a second," interrupted Kakashi. "Who's the other boy?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," said Tsunade.

The chief excused himself to check on his units. Itachi and Kakashi gave one last bow before turning to Tsunade once more with intent.

"You can't see Sasuke while he's being examined," continued Tsunade. "I wanted an identification of the other boy, too, but he's being examined and is currently unconscious for any questioning."

"How old does he look?"

"A little older than Sasuke."

"If you give me a description, I might be able to give you a name. If he's from Konoha, and he goes to school, I should know him," said Kakashi. He knew all the kids in Konoha since there was only one school in the area.

"Thin build, white hair, gr–"

"Green eyes?" Kakashi interrupted excitedly.

"You know him, don't you?"

"Kimimaro Kaguya."

Tsunade quickly thanked him and jogged from the room, telling Itachi that he would be able to see Sasuke in half an hour and telling Kakashi that she would check the database for a "Kimimaro Kaguya."

"Kimimaro?" Itachi questioned in monotone, raising an eyebrow.

"A senior in school," explained Kakashi. He took a seat and patted a chair next to him, motioning for the Uchiha to sit as well. "Quiet. Laid low. He's got a medical condition, but other than that, there isn't much to know about him. I can't figure out why he's with Sasuke, though."

Itachi turned to him, curious. "What medical condition?"

A silence ensued that allowed Kakashi to rub his masked chin and think. His brows furrowed in sudden thought.

"You know, no one actually knows. It's not in his files."

"Perhaps," said Itachi, "his medical condition and Sasuke's medical condition are linked to the situation."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke was a master of unconsciousness. He was actually able to wake himself up rather than have someone shake him to reality. Grumbling from the numbing pain, he opened his eyes to a white ceiling and wires.

"I was just about to wake you up," he heard his brother's voice from his side. Turning, Sasuke saw Itachi sitting in a plastic white chair a little ways away from him, frowning slightly. "It's been one hell of a day."

"How did I get here if I was just . . .?"

He trailed off upon seeing Kimimaro. The boy lay quietly on a separate bed to Sasuke's right, his face covered in white cream and his bare torso hidden by bandages and tubes. Kakashi sat beside him.

"What's going on?" asked Sasuke, utterly confused now.

"We don't know either," said Kakashi. He shot a fleeting glance towards the unconscious Kimimaro. "We sent police after the two of you."

Sasuke jolted upright, ignoring the searing pain in his chest. His eyes widened. "Mom! What about mom?!"

Itachi placed a hand on his brother's chest to force him back to the bed. "It's alright, Sasuke," he said. "We've placed secret police around her and put her machinery on a backup generator. Nothing's happened yet."

"And Naruto?" Sasuke searched for any sign of the blond boy. "Is he alright?"

"He's sleeping off his head injury. He'll be fine."

Sasuke let out a sigh of relief. If anything happened to Naruto, he would have to live with the guilt. Ignoring those thoughts, he averted his eyes to the white-haired boy.

". . . What about him?"

Itachi and Kakashi followed Sasuke's eyes to Kimimaro.

"I tried searching for any contact numbers for his parents, but there doesn't seem to be any."

It was Tsunade who said that, entering the room with a frown on her face and a cell phone in her hand. She stood by Kimimaro's bed.

"His diagnosis is complete."

It was a soft whisper. Her hand hovered momentarily over the exact same place on Kimimaro's chest Sasuke had seen Hidan squeeze in the cellar.

"He's got a prosthetic lung."

Silence.

". . . What?"

Sasuke tried to sit up in bed, but Itachi was holding him down again. The Uchiha could only try to process the information he was being given.

"That's not possible. Is it?"

Tsunade sighed. "There have been experiments in the making," she said. "Scientists have been trying to develop a prosthetic lung for a while now, but none have been successful." **[4]**

"So are you saying he's an experiment?"

"I'm saying he's a victim." Tsunade's eyes turned to Sasuke's. "His right lung is not a successful prosthetic, and it could be killing him."

Sasuke suddenly recalled his first encounter with the boy. He remembered the feeling of Kimimaro's chest convulsing into his, remembered the blood that spattered on his face from a single cough.

It could be killing him.

"We've got to get in touch with a guardian of some sort. I'll talk to the other students I normally see him around and see if I can get any contact," said Kakashi. He excused himself from the room.

Sasuke could not avert his surprised eyes from the Kaguya.

Prosthetic lung?

Experimentation?

What the hell?

"I suggest sleeping, Uchiha," Tsunade's voice broke through his thoughts. "It's going to be a long night for you, and the more you sleep, the easier it makes recuperation. You've lost a lot of blood. And don't forget the long explanation you'll be giving us."

"I want to know what happens to him."

"Nothing's happening right now. Go to sleep."

"But –"

"Sasuke." It was Itachi this time, staring at his brother with an intense gaze. "Sleep."

So he slept.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Well, that's that."

"There's nothing we could've done."

Sasuke's eyes flickered open for what seemed to be the thousandth time that night. His eyes instinctively darted to his right.

No Kimimaro.

"Where'd he go?"

Startled at the sudden statement, Kakashi jumped a little before turning around. "You know, Uchiha, you can at least say hello or something."

"Where'd he go?"

"Home," Kakashi finally said. "I managed to get hold of Kidomaru from school. You might know him."

_Gee, really?_

"He said Kimimaro's mother was out of town for an emergency and that Jirobo – you probably know him, too – was the one in charge. So they came down to take him home."

"What about his lung?"

_It could be killing him._

Kakashi frowned beneath his mask. "You can't do anything if you don't have the money for it, Sasuke. Kidomaru told me they knew about Kimimaro's condition, but his mother doesn't have enough money to do anything about it, so they're going to have to live with what they can."

"I sent him home with a portable IV, though," Tsunade added. "It should make things a little better."

Sasuke frowned, staring at the ceiling in thought. It was always about the money, wasn't it?

The Uchiha was released a few minutes later to Itachi with another batch of medicine to take home. Suddenly realizing that the police had departed, Sasuke had asked Itachi what had happened to Orochimaru. Itachi had grimaced for a split second before reporting that the police had been unable to find him.

But they were still looking, Itachi had reassured him. And Orochimaru would think thrice before doing what he'd already done again.

The two Uchihas seated themselves in their car and began the drive home. Conversation was lost in a comfortable silence. Sasuke snuggled himself deeper into the passenger's seat, relishing in the warmth and the knowledge that no one was going to hurt him when he least expected it anymore.

"Look to your right," Itachi suddenly spoke as he turned the steering wheel.

Confused, Sasuke sat up in his seat and stared into the darkness of the night from his window. Itachi was driving slowly by a group of apartments. Sasuke had to blink several times before he realized what Itachi had wanted him to see.

Two familiar figures were turning into an apartment just as the Uchihas' car was passing by. One of them turned around.

Kidomaru.

From where Sasuke sat, he could see a shadow in the window of the first floor. The faint light from the streetlamp revealed it to be Tayuya. Her gaze was softened as she stared at Kimimaro's limping figure, oblivious of the Uchiha.

But Kidomaru was still staring at Sasuke as the car slowly moved by. Their eyes met for a second: Sasuke's and Kidomaru's. In that split second, Sasuke was promised freedom. In that split second, Kidomaru thanked the Uchiha sincerely. In that split second, Sasuke knew Kidomaru had been sent to the right place.

"Itachi," Sasuke turned to his brother at last. The figures disappeared from sight. "I think things might get just a little better from now on."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Sorry for so many notes this chapter!

**[1] Kakashi wanting to get an explanation - **Please take note of how long Sasuke has gone without giving an explanation.

**[2] Pregnancy Issue** - For those of you who thought that was suspicious, touche. For those of you who think it's pointless, it's not. I put it in there to add to Sasuke's pressure and worries. It's a bit symbolic if you think about it. Now that this issue is gone, and a few more issues are gone, Sasuke's list of worries is shortening. What does this mean?

And think hard. Remember who the author is.

**[3] Born to Be Wild - **ACDC needs some props.

**[4] Prosthetic Lung - **This is 100% true, and I've done the research. Keep this in mind. I'm not done with the concept of Kimimaro. Besides, he still needs an explanation, right?


	13. Affection

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I wouldn't be so sick of making disclaimers.

**Author's Note:** Ack. Spring Break's over.

This is the first time a story of mine has ever reached over 200 reviews. Ever. There are literally, seriously not enough words in the English, Arabic, and Japanese language combined to tell you how much I really appreciate this. And the amount of views. Seriously. This work is my pride and joy, and I am ultimately happy to get your feedback. Thank you beyond words could ever say.

Now that that's done, back to the story.

This is a lighter chapter, albeit still somewhat serious. I incorporated a lot of humor into this, so it should be rather enjoyable. The next chapter is the tournament.

**What do you guys think is going to go down at the tournament?  
**Who's going to win? What do you think's going to happen? I have it written out, and the result won't be changed, but if you guys chip in a good idea, it might fit in and I might add it. I can't wait for that chapter.

Read and enjoy. Review if you're moved to.

**Chapter 13  
**…**:::Affection:::…  
****KAT-TUN**

Sasuke did not go to school the next day beneath Itachi's orders. The elder Uchiha would have taken time off of work to watch over his brother, but Sasuke swore that he'd scream, he'd kick, and he'd run to school if he stayed. He was serious enough to do it, too, and so Itachi was forced to head to another day's work.

Well into the afternoon, when Sasuke lay on his couch with a bottle of painkillers by his hand and his bandaged chest shivering from the cold air the window let through (he was too tired to shut it), there was the soft _click_ of the doorknob unlocking.

Sasuke's eyes snapped open. His heart began to race as a slight, cold sheen of sweat began to cover his body.

_Was it them again?_

_What if there were _more?

"Sasuke?"

Naruto's blond head suddenly appeared in his vision, followed by gravity-defying silver hair. Kakashi must have noticed his frightened eyes. "Calm down," he said. "It's just us."

Sasuke took in deep breaths, trying not to move his chest too much lest he irritate his ribs; a bout of laughter threatened to escape his lips. He saw Naruto take a seat on the couch affront of him as Kakashi disappeared into the kitchen. The side of Naruto's head was bandaged.

"We came to check up on you," the blond said, giving a small smile. "And you still look like shit."

Sasuke wanted to reply with a sarcastic remark of thanks, but his mouth felt ultimately dry and his head spun wildly from lack of food.

Kakashi reemerged with candles and a lighter, placing them around the room. To Sasuke's gratitude, he shut the window on the dying sunset.

"Anything new?" Kakashi asked as he lit the candles. "Has the pain been subsiding?"

Sasuke opened his mouth, saw the world come and go in a second before his very eyes, and groaned. He flung a bony arm over his eyes. Kakashi's eyes widened.

"Please tell me you've had something to eat," he told the Uchiha.

Sasuke shook his head.

Confused, Naruto looked at Kakashi. "Why?" he asked. "When was the last time he ate?"

Before Sasuke could protest, Kakashi replied bluntly as he headed into the kitchen, "Four days ago."

And as expected, Naruto made a scene out of it.

"Are you kidding me?" he exclaimed. "Four days?! God, Sasuke! From the blood loss and everything you've been through, you could seriously die!"

And so Sasuke had to sit and listen to Naruto's scolding rant as Kakashi searched the kitchen for food. Upon finding nothing worthy of eating, he came back into the living room.

"I can't wait until this is over," he whispered as he headed to the phone. "Yes, I'd like two large pizzas delivered . . ."

"Pizza?" Naruto questioned when Kakashi was done with the phone.

The older man shrugged. "It was the only number I had memorized." He then turned to the motionless Uchiha. "Try not to move too much."

_Gee, thanks,_ Sasuke thought bitterly, contorting his mouth into a scowl.

"You're welcome."

Sasuke did _not _want to know.

Kakashi disappeared for a while to roam the house, checking on the state it was in. There wasn't much to look at, and what he did see was neat, organized, and almost untouched. Going into Itachi's room, however, he took a double-take.

The room was exactly as it had been when Itachi had gone on a stress-induced rampage. The broken paintings still littered the floor, their wooden, splintered frames and colored canvases completely destroyed. Some of them still had dried blood on their surfaces.

Kakashi leaned in the frame of the door, still staring at the sight and trying to make out some of the paintings. They had all come from a closet in the back, and although the urge to search for more was itching, Kakashi wanted to give Itachi his privacy.

Naruto, wondering why Kakashi stood in Itachi's doorframe, stood and walked over to the silver-haired man.

"What are you staring at . . .?"

He was forced to trail off as his eyes cast upon the war-zone-like room.

Sasuke got rather annoyed with the lack of people in the living room, hoping they weren't messing around with his things. He forced his battered body from the couch, watching the room spin before his eyes, and used the walls as support as he walked to where Kakashi and Naruto stood.

He hadn't really set foot into Itachi's room ever since the self-harm incident and didn't realize Itachi had never cleaned up the paintings until now. He stared at the familiar paintings to try and make out what had once been a child's smiling face, or what had once been a garden of flowers, but the canvases were too torn.

"Why didn't he ever clean it up?" asked Kakashi.

"Maybe he was too tired?" Naruto suggested, but Kakashi knew it could never have been procrastination. Itachi's actions were all deep.

Sasuke shook his head and shrugged lightly. "He doesn't want to forget," he whispered hoarsely, eyes still fixed onto the pictures.

He knew that his brother deeply regretted ruining the only evidence the older Uchiha had of happiness and without the money, there was nothing left to capture another moment.

Sasuke was going to change all that.

The next morning, when he returned to school, he finished his Shop class assignment quicker than usual and left to work on his project in the back. At lunch, he continued to work on it, even skipping the first few minutes of track to finish it up.

He arrived at the field with two large bags borrowed from the Shop classroom, the contents within them concealed. Placing his things on the bleachers, he walked to Genma. The rest of the team was already doing laps.

"Why so late, Uchiha?" asked Genma mildly as Sasuke began to stretch.

"I was finishing up a project. Sorry."

Genma clapped him on the back. "No problem," he continued. "I'm not one for all that on-time crap anyway. Just get some laps done. Our competition is this Sunday. You didn't come for a while, so I'm telling you now. Are you ready?"

_This Sunday? In _two _days?!_

"Of course. Got it, coach."

He felt woozy as he ran, but forced himself to keep running. He made mental plans that he would have to keep training night and day once more to get back in shape quickly in time for the tournament.

There was something wrong with his leg.

Sasuke hadn't noticed it when he walked, but now that he ran, there was definitely something limiting about it. He stopped briefly to check that it had been changed to its athletic mode.

It had.

So what . . .?

Realization dawned onto him and he groaned, face-palming himself.

His leg hadn't been charged.

Being able to put up without charging for a long period of time, his leg hadn't shown any effects at first, but now that it was losing power, his movements weren't as smooth as before.

By the end of the track session, Sasuke's prosthesis had lost so much power, it looked like he would have a spasm every now and then. No one noticed anything.

Naruto went home with him that day beneath Kakashi's orders. Sasuke didn't mind as much. He was too excited about the project he'd finished. He hadn't even glanced at the information sheet Genma had given him about the tournament.

However, it wasn't long before on the walk home, Naruto noticed Sasuke's leg spasms.

"Is there something wrong with your leg?"

"No."

"Liar."

As if to prove Naruto's point, Sasuke suddenly collapsed to the floor, letting go of his bags just in time before he fell to the concrete.

"I hadn't planned that, but thanks for proving my point," the blond said as he watched the Uchiha get back to his feet, checking his leg.

"No electricity means I can't charge my leg," Sasuke finally explained when they began to move once more. "So it's about to die."

"You can always charge it over at my house."

Sasuke gave nothing but a grumble in reply.

His mood, however, changed drastically when he entered the house. His movements quickened with a sudden vigor and excitement as he limped into the kitchen to retrieve a broom.

"What exactly are you doing?" asked Naruto, watching the Uchiha. They were now in Itachi's room. Sasuke was beginning to sweep the broken wooden frames of the ruined pictures.

Elated, Sasuke confided in Naruto.

"I've been working on a project for Itachi," he said, gathering the wood into a little pile in a corner. "It's the best gift of all times! The first thing I'm going to do when he gets through the front door is give him the gift and he's going to finally smile."

Naruto couldn't help the smile that came to his face as he watched the ecstatic Sasuke continue to sweep with renewed vigor.

"Well then, I'd guess I'd better help." He grabbed a dustbin from the kitchen and returned. "Let's make Uchiha Itachi the happiest man on earth tonight."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Naruto and Sasuke sat on separate living room couches, waiting for Itachi to enter through the door. They had worked together to rid Itachi's room of all the broken wood. Sasuke had kept the pieces of torn canvas and piled them neatly on Itachi's desk, knowing the elder Uchiha would want to keep them as memories.

Sasuke had the two bags by the couch, itching to show them to his brother. In his energized stupor, he had given Naruto an inside explanation.

"Itachi's been so wound up trying to get the money to pay for everything," he said, twiddling his thumbs in anticipation. "He's going to burn himself out if he continues like this. I just want to give him a break. I want to see him laugh again."

"I'm sure once he walks through that door, he will," Naruto whispered with a smile on his face.

But Uchiha Itachi did not walk through the door.

Rather, he was _carried_ in.

The doorknob rattled, causing Sasuke to sit upright, ready to jump at his brother, but it wasn't Itachi that walked in. It was Kisame, carrying the younger man in his arms. Itachi was limp and unconscious. Kisame had a frown marring his face.

"Itachi!" Sasuke exclaimed in horror.

He tried to stand up from the couch, but the second he exerted weight onto his prosthetic leg, he crumpled to the floor. All power had been completely erased from it. It was now nothing but dead weight.

Naruto watched the scene affront of him with pitying eyes: Sasuke tried to struggle to his feet again and instead was forced to lean onto the coffee table for support as he watched Kisame place his unconscious brother onto the couch he had been previously occupying. Itachi had a growing bruise above his right eye.

"What happened?" the younger Uchiha demanded, straining on the table.

Kisame rubbed one hand over his face, sighing heavily. "He passed out again," he said. "Hit into something when he fell."

Sasuke crawled the short distance to his brother's head on his knees, taking Itachi's face in his hands. _This day was supposed to be perfect! It isn't fair! You were supposed to see the gifts! I was supposed to make you happy!_

Kisame rubbed another hand over his face. "I'm going to go make some tea and then we'll see what we can do about him."

". . . Sure," Sasuke whispered detachedly, not watching Kisame enter the kitchen.

He stared at his brother for another few seconds before sighing and looking away. He managed to stay up and was able to exert force onto his prosthesis when it was straight.

"Do you need any help?" asked Naruto, watching Sasuke move to the side of the couch.

Sasuke said nothing as he bent down to slide the gift bags from view.

Naruto could hear Sasuke's shattering heart from where he sat on the couch; he could hear the shards chink together in the bowels of his chest as the Uchiha slowly moved to sit on the couch Itachi lay on, moving his brother's feet.

"Sasuke?" Kisame called, entering the living room once more. His frown had deepened. "I'm not sure if you've noticed, but . . . well, your water's been shut off."

"Are you sure?" Sasuke asked incredulously.

Kisame nodded his head. "I'll check the bathroom if you'd like –"

_THUD!_

The arm of the couch creaked dangerously, threatening to break. Sasuke had punched it. His hair hung limply over his face so no one could see his expression, but his harsh breathing gave it away.

"Fuck . . ." they heard him whisper over and over again. "It's still not enough . . . it's not enough . . ."

"Sasuke?"

"Maybe I should call Kakashi over," suggested Kisame. He was already taking out his cell phone.

Sasuke stayed in the same position for a while, whispering to himself. Kisame advised Naruto from speaking or touching the Uchiha lest he go into another attack. Sasuke was _still_ in the same position when Kakashi finally strode through the door, hands in his pockets, single eye lidded.

"Yo," he said rather casually, raising one hand. Kisame and Naruto returned his greetings before the silver-haired man went to inspect the two Uchihas. He knelt beside Itachi's head first, checking his eyes beneath their eyelids. Sasuke was next.

"Sasuke?" he said in the same casual tone. "What's up?"

Sasuke whirled around swiftly, angrily. "What's _up?"_ he whispered ominously. _"What's up?_ The water company just shut us off!"

Kakashi looked around the house for a second.

"I see."

"It isn't enough, Kakashi!" The Uchiha pointed to his brother. "Itachi's passing out now from all the work he has to do and it _still_ isn't enough! We don't have water! We don't have electricity! My _leg_ died!"

He lifted up his thigh to demonstrate the limpness of his prosthesis.

Kakashi disappeared briefly into Sasuke's room to emerge with crutches that Sasuke kept in his closet from his physical therapy days. He handed them to the Uchiha.

"It's Friday night," he said calmly. "Your track tournament is Sunday afternoon. You're going to be staying at my house."

Sasuke thought about refusing for a moment before he went silent, thinking about his circumstances. If he stayed in his house now, he wouldn't be able to charge his leg. He wouldn't be able to eat correctly, either, which would do serious damage for the competition.

Sighing, he nodded his head. "Fine," he said. He had stayed at Kakashi's house for a countless number of times before. "Just let me get some things."

"I'll come, too," said Kisame. "I'll help with big boy over here," he said, gesturing to Itachi.

Sasuke rose from the couch, supported by his crutches, and hobbled into his room. He emerged briefly to shuffle into the bathroom and into his brother's room before finally returning to the living room with a duffle bag.

"I'll drive you home from Hatake's house, kid," Kisame said to Naruto. He heaved Itachi's motionless body into his arms. "Hi ho, hi ho, it's home from work we go." He broke out into a whistle before ending with, "Hi ho, hi ho, hi ho, hi ho!"

Naruto let out a small fit of quiet giggles. Kakashi's eyes crinkled and his mask moved upwards. Sasuke remained expressionless.

"Onwards, men!"

Kisame marched from the room, Itachi in his arms. Kakashi was next, followed by Naruto. The blond, however, turned around just in time to see Sasuke frown sadly at the gifts hidden behind the couch before adjusting his crutches and moving again.

Naruto frowned, too, just because he thought the world was unfair.

The second Sasuke walked through the door of the Hatake household, something little and fuzzy pounded into his chest, effectively forcing him to the floor. Naruto jumped slightly when he saw the Uchiha fall.

"Long time, no see, Pakkun," Sasuke commented dryly, staring at the smug pug that made itself comfortable on his chest.

Naruto laughed. "Pakkun! I haven't seen you in _ages!"_

The pug turned to Naruto, eyes wide, tongue dangling from his drooling mouth. Sasuke was glad to get a bit of freedom as Kakashi helped him back up. Kisame had already gone in and placed Itachi on a bed in one of Kakashi's guestrooms.

"Let's go, kid," said Kisame when he came out again. Naruto stood up from having been rubbing Pakkun's belly. Pakkun turned over and began to whine.

"Get in there, you lazy mutt," said Kakashi.

Pakkun was happy to oblige when he spotted Sasuke lying down on the couch. He gave a bark and moved stealthily, slowly towards the unsuspecting Uchiha. Kakashi stayed behind to wish Kisame and Naruto a good night.

"Come over some time tomorrow," he said.

"Of course!" Naruto replied.

Sasuke groaned from the couch.

Goodie.

The Uchiha opened his eyes when he heard the distinct sound of the door closing; Pakkun quickly hid himself behind the couch in fear of being noticed in his attempt to ambush Sasuke. Kakashi turned around with a sigh and no trace of a smile.

"They're gone," he said. "Now we can talk."

"Great," Sasuke whispered dryly. He flung an arm over his eyes and shifted on the couch a little, turning away from Kakashi.

"I'm serious, Sasuke."

"This isn't the best time to talk."

"We've left your situation alone long enough."

Sasuke finally turned to stare at the older man. Pakkun had officially slunk from the scene and into Kakashi's bedroom. He could smell an argument coming and did not want to be present in the war zone.

"That's the point, Kakashi," Sasuke ground through his teeth. "That situation's over. It's done. There's no need to bring it up again."

"It's _not_ over, Sasuke. We need to fix that situation before we can move on to the next."

"For God's sake, Kakashi! I already told you I'm not suicidal anymore! I _want_ to live!"

"That's not _enough!"_

"It's enough."

Sasuke sat up and grabbed for his crutches.

"Don't move from that couch."

"Watch me."

But Sasuke was unable to get a single crutch down. Kakashi fiercely wrenched both crutches from the grasp of the Uchiha and pushed him back to the couch.

"I am sick and tired of you _not_ listening to me!" hissed Kakashi. "Why is it that for three months of rehabilitation, you followed my every command, but ever since you came here, you've been nothing but trouble?! What changed, Sasuke? Huh? Why don't you listen to _anyone_ anymore?!"

Sasuke did not grace the man with an answer.

"You were doing so well, Sasuke. Why do you want to throw those months of rehabilitation away?"

"I'm perfectly fine the way I am now, Kakashi."

Sasuke didn't even believe the lies that spilled from his mouth, and Kakashi knew he didn't. But Sasuke could not turn the lies off. They poured from his mouth in a waterfall of deception, and his conscience's words were ignored.

"I don't need your help anymore."

_I need it so badly._

"All anyone's been doing is telling me what to do, what not to do, where to go, who to go with."

_It helps. I'll thank you one day._

"I'm sick of it just like you're sick of me."

_You know I'm lying. I know I'm lying._

"So let's do each other a favor and get the hell out of each other's lives."

_Stop me. Stop me. Stop me._

Sasuke began to move from the couch again, not bothering to reach for his crutches.

"I told you not to move, Sasuke."

But he kept moving anyway.

"Sasuke."

Hop. Hop. Hop.

Who needs crutches?

"_Sasuke."_

Hop. Hop. Hop.

"Sasuke!"

Chink.

Sasuke closed the door to the guestroom. The distinct _click_ of the lock reverberated in the deathly silence that ensued.

Kakashi put his head in his hands and collapsed in the nearest armchair, frustrated beyond words. He stayed silent for a long, long, long while. Finally, taking a deep breath, he stood from his armchair.

It took a brave person to work with Sasuke, he thought. A brave person with a lot of patience and understanding. But Kakashi was starting to lose his patience. And maybe, maybe he didn't understand everything completely.

Or maybe he was rushing things. Maybe, out of his own selfishness, he was trying to pry information out of Sasuke the wrong way.

Hatake Kakashi moved to the comfortable silence of his room and sat at his desk with nothing but a dim light illuminating his vision. He sat for a long time. A _long_ time. And he thought.

His tactics had been good three months ago, when Sasuke was obedient and willing to be rehabilitated as quickly as he could. But now Sasuke had changed. Now Sasuke had been through much more, and was much less willing to be obedient.

So, Kakashi thought, since Sasuke changed, maybe it was time for his tactics to change, too.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke woke early the next morning, having had an early night's rest. Sunlight poured in from the windows, illuminating the apartment to a beautiful glow and contrasting sharply against Sasuke's mood. Kakashi was already in the sun-filled kitchen with the newspaper in hand and a cup of coffee affront of him. Sasuke was vaguely reminded of the mornings when he'd seen Itachi doing just the same.

Kakashi looked over the newspaper with only the slightest hint of weariness.

"Morning," he greeted the younger Uchiha lightly.

Sasuke did not reply.

"Up early, I see," Kakashi continued anyway, still staring at the Uchiha from over his paper. He motioned towards the fridge. "There are waffles in there if you want any, or you can have your choice of cereal."

"You're not going to try and get me to talk?" asked Sasuke in a low whisper, moving to the kitchen. His leg was back in place.

"Well, I didn't have to try hard, now did I?"

Sasuke did not appreciate the humor. Kakashi laughed in spite of himself.

"Okay, okay, sorry." He sighed and began to fold the newspaper in his hands. "I'm sorry about trying to get you to talk yesterday. I'm going to lay off your back for a while."

"For how long?"

"Until you're ready to talk to me."

Sasuke was slightly taken aback at the man's tactics. His conscience begged him: _now, now, now!_ But he simply said, "Why?"

Kakashi took a casual sip of his coffee. "You've changed, Sasuke," he said. "So I guess I've got to do a bit of change myself. Come to me when you think you need help, okay? As of right now, your rehabilitation is out of the question."

_No, no, no!_ his conscience screamed.

". . . Thanks."

Kakashi smiled.

He was screaming on the inside – screaming and pulling his hair and growling in frustration, on his knees, ready to lash out in anger.

But he just smiled.

Sasuke continued to walk into the kitchen, his mood somewhat lighter than it had been before. "Did Itachi wake up?"

Kakashi shook his head. "Let the man rest." He turned to inspect Sasuke's leg as the Uchiha made his way to the refrigerator. "It needs to go back into the charger before you do anything rigorous with it."

"Relax," said Sasuke. He grabbed a banana from Kakashi's fruit bowl. "I've got some plans."

"Oh?"

Kakashi's eyebrows raised in interest.

"Yeah." Sasuke cut the banana into slices on a plate. "I'm spending the morning walking around town as a basic stretch, nothing rigorous enough to switch my leg into athletic mode. Then I'm going to head home before night kicks in, put my leg in the charger, and work on breathing exercises for the rest of the night."

Kakashi took a sip of coffee. "I'm impressed, Sasuke. You've really grown."

Sasuke suddenly stopped slicing his banana to lean forwards on the table, his voice shrinking to a whisper. "I read the competition form," he said. "Don't tell Itachi, but there's a prize."

"And what would that be?"

"Three thousand five hundred dollars."

Kakashi gave a low whistle. Sasuke returned to the slicing of his banana, speaking as he moved to the refrigerator once more.

"I can pay off all our debts with that money _and_ more. Itachi will finally get a break. This is it, Kakashi. This is my time to make Itachi happy."

"You make Itachi happy by just being alive, Sasuke," said Kakashi.

Sasuke retrieved a jar of peanut butter. "Then why's he so stressed all of the time?"

Kakashi chose not to answer. Sasuke ate his bizarre breakfast of milk-doused banana-and-peanut butter minis before saying goodbye. He promised to be back before seven.

Sasuke, indeed, felt lively that day. He didn't know whether it was because of the fresh air, or whether it was because of the amazing weather, or whether it was just because he knew he had a grasp at winning the tournament. He just felt _great._

The town was rather calming in the morning. There were no cars grumbling back and forth to disturb the peace. Sasuke thought it was relaxing and relished in the silence. He honestly had no exact plans for what he'd do in the morning. He just wanted to be away from everything.

"Hey! Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned around suddenly. Someone had disturbed the peace. Two buns of hair were suddenly in his vision, followed by large, puppy-like cinnamon eyes.

TenTen.

"Long time, no chat!" she exclaimed excitedly.

She was dressed in overalls that ended above her knees and what looked to be combat boots. A backpack accompanied her.

"I was going to go for a hike over the hills by the docks," she said. "Neji's going to be there. It's great training for the competition! Do you want to come?"

Sasuke resisted the urge to raise an eyebrow. "Thanks for the offer," he refused politely. "But I'd rather train at my own pace."

"Sure thing, Sasuke." She waved warmly at him. "Good luck with your training. Sorry I can't stay and chat, but I'm already late as it is. Bye!"

Sasuke waved as well, just to amuse himself. He stared rather fondly at the girl as she skipped away.

She had been _nice._

It completely contradicted his view on the world.

But continuing to walk further, Sasuke saw a group of girls dressed in practically nothing at all with makeup on their faces enough to cover a small dog. They cackled as laughter and threw their gum wrappers on the floor even though there was a garbage bin a mere foot from where they stood. **[1]**

These people, Sasuke thought, were exactly why the world was set so low.

"Pick them up."

The girls carried on laughing.

"Pick them _up."_

They finally noticed someone was trying to communicate with them and turned their heads to stare at Sasuke, standing there with gritted teeth. One of them began to squeal.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" they chorused together. "We'll be watching you at the tournament!" Before they could begin their mindless rants, Sasuke pointed to the forgotten gum wrappers.

"Pick them up."

Another girl cast him a confused glance. "Why?"

"Because this town doesn't need to be tainted with more filth than it already has been."

Filth, of course, in the human range.

The girls succumbed to his will, however. They thought that, although Sasuke looked rather threatening, they wouldn't want to make their "precious Uchiha Sasuke" mad. And so they bent down, riding their strips for skirts up, and threw the wrappers away.

Sasuke turned and walked before they had the chance to ogle him again. He delved further into the town where the shopping areas began, meeting Izumo and Kotetsu on the way.

"The vampire came out in the day!" Kotetsu jokingly gasped when Sasuke stopped by.

"And he speaks!" Izumo continued.

Sasuke shot them a dark look. "I'd suck on your blood, but I don't like bitter things."

"Ouch."

"Burn."

Sasuke smirked. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have some training to get to."

"For the tournament tomorrow, right?" asked Izumo. Sasuke nodded.

Kotetsu suddenly whistled and held up the peace sign. "Go Uchiha!"

"Uchiha, Uchiha, he's our man! If he can't do it, no one can!"

Sasuke was never so happy to be able to duck and cover. He quickly hid himself behind a moving cart.

"Where'd he go?"

"I _told_ you he was a vampire!"

"Do you think he melted?"

". . . Do you want ice cream?"

"Vanilla?"

When Sasuke thought if was safe, he stood upright from his crouching position and looked around.

The Chalk O' Lit Café.

He was right at its door. The place was emptier than Sasuke had seen it. Before he knew it, his fingers were already pressing against the cool glass door to push it open. Soft strums of a guitar filled his ear from the overhead speaker. **[2]**

Sasuke sat in one of the wavy blue chairs by the front window, being able to stare at passing people. He didn't even bother looking at the menu.

"What'll it be today, kiddo?"

He looked up to see Temari grinning down at him, a notepad in her hand, ready to write.

"Tea," the Uchiha replied dully. "Green. No sugar."

Temari scribbled it down and pocketed the notepad. "You're in the competition, right?" she asked him. She shifted her weight to one leg when Sasuke nodded. "I'd like to see you run, Uchiha. I heard you might be able to beat Gaara."

"People keep telling me that."

"Then you _must_ be good." She turned around with a wave. "I'll get that tea for you."

Sasuke took the time to stand and walk around the café, looking at the different sets of bright furniture, the pool table, and the television screen in the background. There was a stage set in one corner of the room for performances.

Curious, Sasuke walked to it.

There was a _piano!_

And a _guitar!_

Sasuke immediately made a beeline for the piano, not caring if he wasn't allowed on stage or not. He sat comfortably on the leather seat and set his fingers upon the pearl keys. The feeling was ultimately refreshing.

Temari was suddenly at his side. For a second, Sasuke thought she was going to scold him for touching the piano, but she had her hands clasped in a praying motion.

"Can you play?!" she practically screamed in desperation.

Sasuke raised a slender eyebrow.

"Well?" Temari urged. "Can you?"

". . . Yes?"

"How's your singing voice? Do you know jazz? Can you sing and play? How –"

"May I ask why you're asking such questions?" Sasuke interrupted.

Temari let out a sigh, a groan, and ran a hand through her bangs. "Today's piano day," she said. "Our pianist had to cancel at the last minute and I'm having a hard time finding a substitute."

"And you want me to substitute in for him?"

"Please?"

Sasuke wasn't quite sure if he could perform anything.

"I haven't really played anything in a while and –"

"It doesn't matter. Do you know any songs? Jazzy songs? Things to sing to?"

". . . I know a few . . ."

"Perfect! Please, Uchiha. I'm practically begging you, and I don't normally beg!"

Temari _did_ look desperate.

"I'll pay you!"

Sasuke's eyebrows shot up at this. He started to like the sound of it.

"We pay all our performers," she continued, smirking when she saw that Sasuke was interested. "You get ten dollars for every show you take; fifteen for the night shows."

"Are you _serious?"_

Sasuke didn't need to think about this. This was it! This could be his _other_ break! All he had to do was play the piano and he'd earn ten dollars!

"Fine," he said.

Temari practically squealed in delight, clapping the Uchiha roughly on the back. "Great! When can you start? How many performances can you give?"

_She likes asking questions, doesn't she?_

"I'm free until night."

Temari frowned.

"Can't you do _one_ night performance? Just _one?"_

_Fifteen dollars, Uchiha! Fifteen dollars!_

The next thing Sasuke knew, his hands were gliding over the keyboard an hour later as people were beginning to file in for lunch. The seats quickly filled in front of Sasuke, whispers of the boy breaking out amongst the crowd of girls. Sasuke had been practicing before the crowd came and remembered the keys to all the songs he had once been able to play.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Elton Pon was unable to come today due to family matters, and so we have Uchiha Sasuke filling in for him. Give the rookie a round of applause please," introduced Temari. As the crowd applauded, she adjusted the microphone stand for Sasuke.

"Good luck, kid. You don't have to sing well."

She gave him one last clap on the back before leaving the stage for him. A random spotlight shone on him despite the sun shining brightly through the open windows. Sasuke thought it was rather irritating.

Regardless, his fingers began to softly, quietly touch the pearl keys as he begun his first song.

"Step one: you say we need to talk. He walks, you say sit down; it's just a talk. He smiles politely back at you. You stare politely right on through."

His voice was low and tenor-like, soft, but fit the song. The crowd cheered upon recognizing the song, willing him to go on. Girls let out dreamy sighs and low 'aws' at the choice of song.

Sasuke closed his eyes, unconsciously moving back and forth. "Some sort of window to your right, as he goes left and you stay right between the lines of fear and blame. You begin to wonder why you came."

The chorus wasn't rock-like, but soft – quieter with just the piano chords being pounded. "Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend, somewhere along in the bitterness and I, would have stayed up with you all night, had I known how to save a life."

When Sasuke ended the song with its last notes, he left them to fade, echoing from the stage and into the crowd.

Some of the girls had overdramatic tears in their eyes, calling out for Sasuke. The boys had stood politely to clap. Other girls smiled and cheered.

Temari came back on stage and took the mic as Sasuke sat and stared on.

"Uchiha, I didn't know you had it in you," she said into the mic. "So, crowd, is he a keeper? All for yes, shout!"

There was a deafening roar in the café.

Sasuke looked out the windows to see passing pedestrians continue to walk as if nothing happened. He deduced two things: that either the café had soundproof walls, or everyone was simply used to it.

"Looks like you've found yourself a new job, Uchiha."

Sasuke stared at Temari for a while, taking the words in.

_Job._

_Job?_

_Yeah, job._

He liked the sound of that.

Sasuke was given a break and a cup of tea, on the house. He sat in a lone couch by the stage. Temari asked if he could do another performance. He said he could keep going with whatever. Inwardly, he convinced himself that it was a pretty good breathing exercise.

The next performance he did was at two-thirty for an audience of purely girls. Apparently, says Temari, two to three pm on Saturdays was all-girl time and was a tradition to be so. Sasuke was rather pleased that he recognized no one.

He played – just for the girls – So Sick, but set the vocal notes into a pitch that he could hit without damaging his reputation.

Temari started handing out tissues at the end of the performance.

"You're a money-maker, Uchiha," said Temari when he was on his second break. "Do you plan on being a regular?"

"I'll take up a gig whenever you need it," replied Sasuke. He took a sip from his third cup of tea that day. A salad and a turkey sandwich had been given to him with the tea as lunch.

"God only knows what a rich kid like you would do with the money," Temari commented before she left.

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

_If only she knew._

As four o'clock came around the corner, another performer headed onto the stage, someone Sasuke had never seen before. She seemed to be well-known by the way a group of girls and boys instantly gathered to sit affront of her.

Sasuke watched her take a harmonica from a case that hung around her neck. He watched, slightly interested, as she began playing a blues solo.

Becoming uninterested (he'd had enough of blues for a lifetime), he turned to stare out the window.

"Uchiha," Temari called him a while later. It was going well into six. Sasuke had busied himself with a magazine about all sorts of Fine Arts. He raised his head from a particularly-interesting article about woodcraft. "You've got another gig now and you're our first night performance."

"Right," said Sasuke.

He did his next gig for a large group of a mixed crowd, performing Hit the Road, Jack and getting a positive reaction. It wasn't until seven-thirty, after he'd called Kakashi to tell him he'd be slightly late, did he have the best performance he'd felt he'd given in a long time. Looking around the café to see what sort of crowd he had, Sasuke saw couples: couples that sat on the couch, girls snuggled into the arms of their men, awaiting the performance that was to come on. Sasuke saw the setting sun from the windows.

Feeling rather humorous and in good spirits, he knew of the perfect song to play.

Flexing his fingers to prepare himself for a complicated song, Sasuke began with the lyrics.

"You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain."

Four whams of rising chords were inserted after before another pause for lyrics came.

"Too much love drives a man insane."

Four chords.

"You broke my will."

Four chords.

"But what a thrill."

Dun, dun, dun –

"Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!"

The beat sped up, 80's like. The crowd laughed as Sasuke smirked, his fingers moving rapidly over the keys. Someone called out _"Perfect song!"_ over the cheers.

"I laughed at love 'cause I thought it was funny," Sasuke sang into the mic as he played. "You came along and you _moved_ me, honey! I've changed my mind. Love is fine. Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!"

He thought it was rather out of character for him, but the people that occupied the café didn't know who he was. Perhaps they recognized him as the 'rich Uchiha kid', or perhaps they'd heard rumors from his school, but he didn't mind. This one night, he didn't care.

Besides, he was doing this for the money.

Right?

"You kiss me baby, _ooh_, feels good! Hold me baby."

Pause. Silence. Sasuke built up the suspense.

"I'm gonna love you like a lover should."

He pounded on the following four chords.

"You're fine."

Four chords.

"So kind."

Four chords.

"Got to tell this world that your mine, mine, mine!"

He threw back his head as he tapped his toes. "I chew my nails and I twiddle my thumbs. I'm real nervous, but this sure is fun. Come on, baby, you're driving me crazy. Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!" **[3]**

The crowd was sent into cheers again as Sasuke went into the complicated piano solo the song was famous for. It felt like an 80's disco party. His hands swept up and down the keyboard, mesmerizing the audience.

With a last "Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire!", Sasuke ended the song. It took him a while through the deafening blast of applause to realize that he was panting harshly and sweat trickled down his face.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Uchiha Sasuke!"

Temari motioned for him to stand and bow. He did so, ignoring the sweat that slid down his temple. The crowd stood as they continued to applause. Sasuke stood upright and waved goodbye before he would head off the stage.

It was in those few seconds of waving did he spot blond hair and a neon orange shirt. He paused, eyes trying to make out who it was.

Yeah, he knew it.

Naruto.

The boy was surrounded by the friends Sasuke had last been with in the café. Sasuke groaned, hoping they wouldn't try to speak to him. He followed Temari to the counter.

"That was _the_ best performance I've seen in a long time, Uchiha," the blond girl commented as she bent behind the counter. "You don't seem like the type to sing those kinds of songs."

"Yeah, Mr. Emo Prince."

Someone clapped him roughly on the shoulder. Sasuke didn't have to turn around to know who it was.

"Whatever happened to the 'slit my wrists and let me die' kind of songs?"

Sasuke finally turned around and scowled. "I never sung those kinds of songs," he replied lowly. "What are you doing here?"

"I came by Kakashi's house to see if you wanted to come to the café with me and he told me you were already there. I thought you'd be training until you passed out."

Sasuke didn't grace Naruto with an answer. He turned around to face Temari, who extended her arm to hand him money.

"Forty-five dollars," she said, smiling. "Come again any time."

Sasuke bowed his head in gratitude as he took the money, thanking her. He turned to leave the café. Naruto grabbed his shoulder.

"Why don't you stay for a while?" the blond urged.

"I promised Kakashi I'd be home before eight."

"We were discussing the competition. It'd be really beneficial if you stayed."

Sasuke grimaced, weighing his options. It _would_ be a _huge_ benefit if he could discuss the competition with Neji and Lee, who had had previous experience. He'd be able to know what to watch out for . . .

. . . Perhaps staying wouldn't be such a bad idea.

It was.

When Naruto dropped Sasuke off at Kakashi's house, it was nearing ten-thirty. Sasuke had gotten quite a bit of information after compliments were thrown at him, like who to watch out for, who trips who, little bumps in the road and tricks in the track.

But Kakashi's facial expression when Sasuke knocked on the door?

Yeah, Sasuke could have lived without it.

"Where have you _been?"_

Sasuke thought Kakashi was going to hit him. Naruto cowered in fright behind him.

"I – I was at the café," stuttered Sasuke, staring into the blazing eye of Kakashi.

Someone had pushed Kakashi aside and had lunged for Sasuke, grabbing the Uchiha's shirt and dragging him in. It was Itachi.

"Goodnight, Naruto," Kakashi said curtly before promptly shutting the door in the blonde's face. Naruto stood, staring at the wooden door, too shocked to move.

Itachi roughly pushed Sasuke into the couch. "You said you'd be home by eight!" he yelled.

"It's ten-thirty!" continued Kakashi.

"I thought you'd gotten kidnapped again!"

"Why didn't you _call?!"_

Sasuke bowed his head, his hands together at their tips in his lap. He didn't dare look at his brother, or Kakashi.

He didn't dare tell them the truth, either.

"I was doing music gigs for the Chalk O' Lit café," he said in barely a whisper. "The owner wanted me for night gigs. I guess I just didn't want to leave."

Naruto, who still stood behind the door, listened and his eyes widened. Sasuke had lied? Why didn't he tell the truth? Why didn't he put all the blame on him?

"Gigs?" Itachi said, still slightly yelling. "You were late because you were playing _gigs?!_ Are you in_sane?! _Do you know how much stress you put me through? I came back from work an hour ago and have been going crazy over you!"

"You could have called to tell me you were going to be late, Sasuke," Kakashi said in a disappointed voice.

"I can't _believe_ you!" Itachi continued anyway.

"Are you . . .?" Sasuke swallowed, still staring at his hands. "Are you going to ground me from the tournament tomorrow?"

Itachi paused at this, contemplating it. His voice softened slightly, but it was still loud enough to be considered yelling. "If you haven't been going crazy over the tournament, I would ground you right here, right now! But I'll think of your punishment _after_ tomorrow, understand?" Sasuke nodded. "And it's going to be _harsh."_

Not being able to say anything else, Sasuke pulled the money he'd received from Temari from his pockets. His head still bowed, he outstretched both his arms to hand his older brother the money.

"What's this?" Itachi's voice had gotten considerably softer.

"Forty-five dollars," replied Sasuke. He finally looked up to greet his brother's eyes. "I get ten dollars per gig, fifteen per night gig."

Itachi took the money, staring at it. Kakashi stared, too. Sasuke, however, sprang quickly from the couch, letting out a quick "Good night!" before disappearing into his room, closing the door behind him.

Itachi stayed staring at the money for a while.

He turned to Kakashi for a moment. Something wasn't adding up. "How often is a gig performed at that café?"

"One per hour."

Itachi smirked suddenly, pocketing the money. He whispered a quick good night to Kakashi before disappearing into his own room.

"Nice try, Sasuke."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] Fangirls - **Yeah. Fangirls. Ouch. I didn't forget about them, but they've been hard to incorporate since Sasuke doesn't really socialize. So I took the opportunity to put them randomly in here.

**[2] Guitar Chords - **Random note: I was thinking Tears in the Rain by Joe Satriani. I highly recommend it if you like relaxing music. Beautiful.

**[3]** **ALL the songs - **Okay, instead of putting a little annoying number by each song, I'll just put them here. Some should be easily recognizable. I recommend all these songs. They're beautiful or catchy.  
1st Song: How to Save a Life by the Fray  
2nd Song: So Sick by NeYo  
3rd Song: Hit the Road, Jack by Ray Charles  
4th Song: Great Balls of Fire by Jerry Lee Lewis.  
And did anyone catch that "Elton Pon" joke? Ha. Author humor. Sue me.


	14. I Dare You

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I'd have enough power to rule the world.

**Author's Note:** Woohoo, short Author's Note this time.

You know how some stories have a lot of climaxes rather than just one? Well, this is that kind of story.

Ladies and gentlement, welcome to the first climax of Falling Up to Heaven!

**On the important side, readers should _really_ take in every detail, every event in the first half of this chapter, because it might answer a few questions in the second half, as well as with the rest of the story.**

I Dare You to enjoy. =) Lame joke. I'm full of those this week.

**Chapter 14  
**…**:::I Dare You:::…  
****Shinedown**

This was it.

This was the day.

Sasuke woke up at ten, almost getting a full twelve hours of sleep. He threw the covers from his body, wide awake, and used the crutches to enter the bathroom.

After a long shower, a good stretch, and the fixation of his prosthetic leg, Sasuke finally walked into the living room of Kakashi's apartment. Itachi and Kakashi were oddly on the floor, bent over Kakashi's coffee table.

Walking behind them, Sasuke saw something that caused him to back away slowly into the kitchen.

Itachi and Kakashi were playing Battleship®.

"Good morning to you, too, Sasuke," Itachi said before Sasuke could vanish completely from the living room.

"Are you ready?" asked Kakashi. "B5."

"Miss."

Sasuke didn't grace the man with an answer. It wasn't like Kakashi cared for one anyway. He was having trouble trying to take down one of Itachi's ships.

"Kakashi cheats, by the way," Sasuke called out nonchalantly as he took a banana for breakfast once more.

Itachi's eyebrows rose. "Is that so?"

"I have no idea what he's talking about!"

Kakashi then turned to Sasuke and mouthed _"You're dead!"_

"Itachi, Kakashi's threatening to kill me. Make him stop!" Sasuke pretended to whine.

"Stop."

"Thank you, dear brother. You're such a help."

"I try."

Sasuke let out a short laugh in his high mood as he helped himself to some of Kakashi's cereal that was lined atop of the refrigerator. He chose a box of Lucky Shuriken® and pulled out a porcelain bowl.

"B12."

"Miss."

Holding his bowl of cereal and sliced bananas, Sasuke walked to the two adults. He stood behind Kakashi. "I didn't think you guys would ever play this together."

"This is a game of strategy, Sasuke. You wouldn't understand," said Kakashi, waving the Uchiha away without even looking at him.

"Is that so?"

Sasuke stared at Kakashi's battle field, turned to Itachi, and mouthed _D14._

"D14," said Itachi.

"Hit! That was my best ship!"

Realization suddenly dawned onto Kakashi. He threw a stray piece at Sasuke. It landed in the bowl of cereal.

"Go play with Pakkun or something."

Sasuke flicked the drenched piece back at Kakashi. "That's okay. I'm fine where I am." He smirked and sat on the couch, away from the game board. He was completely hyped up, ready for the tournament.

"So how's the tournament going to be?" asked Itachi. "E4."

"Hit! Damn it!"

Sasuke chewed on a spoonful of marshmallows and bananas. "It's like one of those Olympic tournaments you see, except it doesn't involve swimming or biking. We're going to be running all around Konoha on a set trail."

"Competition?"

"The Suna School or something like that." Sasuke shrugged. "They say this kid named Gaara is going to take home the gold."

Kakashi smirked. "I'd love to see him try that against you."

"Don't jinx me!"

"What are you going to do? Spray salt around yourself and dance?"

"I'm thinking about it," Sasuke said around a mouthful of cereal.

He turned around and entered the kitchen once more to sit down at the dining table, staring at Kakashi and Itachi from over the bar. He was about to raise his free hand to give Itachi a letter and number when Kakashi, without even looking up from the table, said, "Don't even think about it."

"I wasn't doing anything!" Sasuke quickly countered.

_Ding dong!_

Sasuke was quick to open the door before Kakashi had the chance to move. His eyebrows rose when Naruto smiled at him and waved enthusiastically, a duffle bag hanging from one shoulder.

"Ah, Naruto," said Kakashi from where he sat. "Good morning."

Naruto was already dressed for the tournament. He wore an orange tank top, white Bermuda shorts, and neon-orange sneakers. Sasuke moved aside to let him in and closed the door.

"Granny dropped me off while she went to work," the blond said as he set his bag by the door and took off his shoes.

Sasuke went back to his cereal. Kakashi and Itachi went back to their game. Naruto entered the kitchen.

"Ready, Uchiha?" the blond asked, leaning over the counter.

Sasuke smirked around his spoon. Naruto gave him a quick once-over. The Uchiha wore a plain white t-shirt and loose track pants with his usual worn sneakers.

"Don't worry, Uzumaki," said Sasuke after he'd chewed. "I'll set up camp after I pass the finish line and wait for you."

"Hilarious," Naruto said dryly.

"I know."

Sasuke smirked and went to wash his bowl, leaving behind a darkly-muttering Naruto.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

The boys had spent their morning peacefully without any rigorous movements. All four males had sat in Kakashi's living room, spending an hour on simple chatting and a variety of card games. At twelve, Kakashi suggested for Sasuke and Naruto to walk around the town and have lunch at a café until the competition came at three.

And so Sasuke now stood in front of the Chalk O' Lit Café with Naruto at his side, pushing the door to hear the sweet chime that marked their entry. Temari looked up from the counter, smiled, and waved.

"I didn't expect to see you guys out here," she said as she wiped her hands on her apron. The café was mildly empty.

"I didn't expect to see this place still open," replied Naruto. He and Sasuke took seats by the window. "You're watching the competition, aren't you?"

"All of _Konoha_ is going to be watching the competition, Naruto. As soon as two o'clock hits, I'm closing down this joint and heading to the starting flags. What'll it be, boys?"

They ordered their lunches and made light conversation (or little, on Sasuke's behalf) with Temari before another group of teenagers walked in and Temari left to take their orders.

"Nervous, Uchiha?" asked Naruto, seeing Sasuke's hand shake as the boy stirred his green tea.

Sasuke shook his head, smirking, and set down the spoon. "I'm excited," he said. "_Really_ excited."

"Me too," Naruto admitted. He leaned back into the couch and sighed. "We're two and a half hours from kicking butt."

"Don't you mean _I'm_ two and a half hours from kicking butt? All you'll be doing then is biting my dust."

"Oh, bring it on, Uchiha. You just wait and see."

"I'm starting to think I should buy a tent . . ."

"Oi!"

Naruto threw a french-fry at Sasuke, to which the Uchiha happily caught and ate, muttering a sarcastic thanks. Naruto glared darkly and averted his attention to his hamburger. Sasuke stared, lost in thought, before he was finally broken out of his trance by coughing coming from behind him. Thinking it to be someone trying to get his attention, he turned, but the person had already left for the bathroom.

Sasuke turned back to Naruto.

"Isn't that a little bad to eat before a competition?"

Naruto, in turn, eyed Sasuke's tuna salad. "I've done this before a dozen times and nothing happened."

"Out of those dozen times, how many did you win?"

"Shut it."

Sasuke smirked outwardly, but couldn't keep his hand from shaking as he tried to fork his salad. He was _extremely_ excited. He could almost taste the victory with every bite of lettuce, corn, and tuna.

_Three thousand five hundred dollars . . ._

Itachi's young, laughing face came into his mind.

_Three thousand five hundred dollars . . ._

He had to win. For the sake of Itachi.

He had to win.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

At two o'clock, Naruto and Sasuke had paid for their lunches, said goodbye to Temari, and headed off on their way to the starting point. Sasuke's head whirled with thoughts. Naruto was grinning, his mood high as the clouds were above their heads.

"Thank you for the weather!" the blond shouted to the skies.

Sasuke shook his head in mock pity, continuing to walk. The starting point was at the start of Konoha; there was a road leading from the other countries with a sign that said _Welcome to Konoha!_ The race would end at Konoha's other side, where another sign said _Welcome to Konoha!_

Those who were going to watch the event (which was practically the entire town) would come to the starting point and then drive to the ending point, where they would wait for possibly several hours. Drinks and food would be served by umbrellas and plastic chairs.

Along the trail of the tournament would be security to make sure no one took any shortcuts, cheated, or did anything against the rules.

Naruto and Sasuke arrived at the starting line. They were an hour early, but several of the competitors were already there. Some of them had even begun to warm up. Sasuke recognized Neji, Lee, and Kiba, as well as a few of the other students from the track team. TenTen, Ino, Hinata, and Sakura stood around the boys, all of them in a single conversation.

"There they are!" Ino suddenly exclaimed, pointing to where Sasuke and Naruto were walking towards them.

After quick greetings, Sasuke sat on the grass, absentmindedly stretching forwards. Neji took a seat next to him.

"That's him," the quiet Hyuuga said in his monotonous voice. His eyes stared into the distance. Sasuke turned to stare in the same direction.

A boy sat at the base of a tree, silent, with his pale arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were closed and seemed to have black war paint accentuating them. What Sasuke found rather eye-catching was the boy's hair: tousled, bright red hair.

However, Sasuke's eyebrows rose when he recognized Kankuro. The man knelt beside the redhead with a can of red liquid.

"What's Kankuro doing there?" asked Sasuke in surprise.

Neji smirked. "He's Gaara's brother."

Two things occurred to Sasuke at that moment:

"He's Gaara's _brother?"_ soon followed by, "_That's_ Gaara?"

Neji's eyes were filled with mirth, but his mouth stayed in a smirk. "Yes, that's Gaara," he said patiently. "Kankuro's painting the traditional kanji for love onto his forehead. They do it for every tournament as a sign of good luck and so far, it's worked pretty well."

"And the eye paint?"

"He does that himself."

Sasuke was reminded of Kankuro's purple face paint, which the man wore always, and wondered what it was with the Sabaku family members and marking their faces.

Neji stayed silent for a while, watching as Kankuro finished up the kanji. He cradled his knees to his chest. "He doesn't play dirty," the Hyuuga said later. "But he's still some pretty amazing competition."

"What's this?" Sasuke smirked and raised an eyebrow. "The Great Hyuuga Neji compliments someone other than himself?"

"Watch it, Uchiha. I might not let you take a picture with _my_ trophy."

"I wouldn't want a picture with the last place trophy anyway. Thanks, though."

When the others had come over after finishing their conversation, they saw both the Hyuuga and the Uchiha smirking, both staring at the sky.

"What are you two smirking about?" asked Chouji. He, Shikamaru, Sai, and Shino had recently joined the rest.

"Malice," replied Sasuke.

"Malevolence," added Neji.

The group decided they _didn't_ want to know.

With thirty minutes left to the start of the tournament, Lee gathered their entire team together to begin an easy warm-up. Jogging lightly in place, Sasuke spotted Itachi and Kakashi speaking to Genma by the sidelines.

A group of students lined in twos was making its way around the outside of the area. The students' feet hit the ground in synchronized order, creating a sort of low, rumbling drum roll as they continued, intimidating, towards the end of the field. A man watched them intensely from the sides. Gaara led the ground expressionlessly.

Suna.

"Thirty minutes," Kiba said dreamily, interrupting Sasuke's thoughts. "Can you believe it? It's just thirty minutes away!"

"Don't get too excited, Kiba. You don't want your heart racing too early," warned Naruto.

"Alright, kiddies, this is it!"

Genma suddenly appeared and clapped an unsuspecting team member on the shoulder. The poor girl jumped high. Genma quickly apologized.

Kakashi and Itachi came up right behind the hyper man. Itachi stood by Sasuke's side.

"This is the moment we've all been waiting for!" exclaimed Genma. He began handing out numbers, having already checked that they were registered.

"The big one," continued Sakura.

"The beauty of all treasures," added Kiba.

Sasuke leaned over to whisper to Naruto as he took his number. "You've all memorized his speech?"

"Nah," replied the blond, grinning widely. "Genma never prepares a speech. He just starts us off and lets us make up one as we go along."

Sasuke nodded, starting to pin his number up as he listened. It said: _Uchiha – 77._

_Lucky Number Seven, huh?_

"This is the day we show Suna who's boss!"

"Our moment to shine!"

"We've trained too hard to let this go to waste!"

At the end of the speech, Genma pretended to wipe away a false tear. "That was, by far, the best speech we've ever given in a while."

_"All racers to the starting line in five minutes!"_ a loud voice over a megaphone suddenly shouted.

"Hurry, coach!"

"Alright, alright!" Genma said hurriedly. He briefly glanced at the Suna coach from the corners of his eyes. "There shouldn't really be much competition, except for that Gaara kid, but even if he takes the gold, there's always silver and bronze, got it? And either way, win or lose, you know what we're going to do on Monday."

Sasuke was slightly startled at the sudden exclamation of "Party!"

"Now get your asses over to that starting line and start thinking about the goodies you're going to bring to the party, got it?"

Another round of exclamations of approval had Sasuke raising a slender eyebrow. And then suddenly, everyone was running in a hyper frenzy towards the starting line, itching to begin and turning heads everywhere. Parents and onlookers cheered.

Itachi clapped Sasuke on the shoulder, smirking.

"I shouldn't have to wait long at the finish line, should I?" he asked casually.

"Make sure you step on the gas when you're going to it," replied Sasuke, "or you might miss my big finish."

"Touché."

Sasuke advanced to the starting line, adrenaline already pumping through his veins.

"Sasuke."

He stopped, turned. Itachi was still smirking.

"Charge, check?"

Sasuke mimicked his brother's smirk when he realized it was the same thing they did when they were younger. "Check," he replied.

"Breathing alright, check?"

"Check." Pause. "Hey, Boogeyman-repellant head gear, check?"

Itachi paused, reached into his vest, and pulled out a flattened orange hat. He fixed it properly and placed it atop his hair, looking absolutely ridiculous and not caring in the least.

"Check."

Sasuke didn't smirk. He smiled. He smiled, gave a thumbs-up to Itachi, and finally turned to the starting line.

"Good luck, Sasuke." Itachi turned around as well. "I'll be waiting."

_"All racers to the starting line!"_

Sasuke stood between Naruto and Neji.

"Hyuuga," a silky, monotonous voice whispered. Gaara suddenly appeared beside Neji, eyes facing the trail.

"Hey, Sabaku," Neji said casually.

Sasuke watched the two exchange minimum conversation, neither staring at each other. He assumed that the boys knew each other well. After all, no one had said anything about Gaara being hated, or evil.

"Uchiha."

The same voice called for Sasuke. Startled, Sasuke turned to meet sea foam green eyes lined with paint. Had Sasuke been anyone else, he would have run away at the sight of the piercing gaze.

"I've heard about you," Gaara continued. He turned to stare at the trail again. "I'm looking forward to calling you competition."

Naruto, having been listening, chuckled lightly and said to Sasuke, "That's Gaara's way of complimenting you."

". . . Right." He turned to Gaara. "Good luck to you, too, I guess."

Neji smirked.

Sasuke had just realized the extent of the crowd's shouting. It had been drowned out by his thoughts, but the sudden silence in his mind brought in the noise from the dozens of people that stood at the sidelines, screaming names and luck and calling out to their friends, their lovers, or their children.

_"Racers to your marks!"_

"Here we go!" Naruto called excitedly.

"May the youth be with each and every one of you!" Lee shouted.

There was not a single head that wasn't turned towards the bowl-haired boy.

Lee was oblivious.

As always.

_"Get set!"_

_BANG!_

The pistol was fired and Sasuke suddenly felt himself moving forward. It felt like a dream. It felt like his legs were controlling _him_ rather than the other way around, forcing himself to a quick, set pace. He watched amateurs immediately run off, knowing they'd regret it later.

No, slow and steady was the way to go, with a final stride at the end.

He saw Gaara take up the same quick pace next to him. Naruto, Neji, and Lee were mere steps behind, as it always had been during track practices.

_Bring it on, Sabaku._

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke recalculated his position half an hour after the race had begun. He _always _recalculated his position every half hour. He had been following the winding trail of gravel and cement marked by hundreds of tiny, colorful flags, the scenery of Konoha changing around him with every twist and turn. He and Gaara, still side-by-side, were ahead of everyone.

_Everyone._

There was no one behind them for several meters as they began to near a distant post office. When Sasuke turned around, the trail showed no signs of anyone except the neon-clad patrolmen.

An hour later, coming up behind the market place, Sasuke could see no one.

Not even Gaara.

He was ahead.

He didn't know what to feel. He felt unbelievably happy, sensing that yes, he was going to win this competition, but he told himself not to get too cocky. Even though he couldn't see Gaara, it was probably only because the trail sharply turned, lined with towering bushes so that Sasuke couldn't see anyone that hadn't made the turn.

But still . . .

_I actually have a chance of winning!_ he thought to himself. _As long as Gaara doesn't pick up his pace, I can actually win this thing!_

Sasuke soon met a sign: _Halfway there!_ A large stand was stationed beneath it on the grass beside the trail with several members of the PTA sitting in chairs.

"Oh, honey!" one of them called as he neared, gesturing him over with a free hand. "Congratulations!" She held out a cup of water for him to take as he ran. Sasuke thanked her, bowing his head, and headed off again. He downed the cup slowly so he wouldn't irritate his stomach. The hydration renewed his vigor.

He was almost there.

Almost there.

Sasuke picked up his pace by the slightest speed. He thought about nothing but the money that would await him, nothing but the smile that would appear on Itachi's face when he would hold it up to his brother.

Sasuke smiled, too.

Another half hour later, arriving by the hospital, Sasuke was beginning to pant harshly. He hadn't stopped at all, worrying that he wouldn't be able to continue at the same pace. Turning around briefly, Gaara, nor anyone else, was in sight.

_Almost there_, he willed himself.

But something was happening.

The air around him began to feel colder as he jogged. The temperature plummeted. He rubbed his arms briefly in attempt to bring warmth to them, but even his own hands were chilly against his skin.

Sasuke wished it had stopped at that, but no. His heart began to race when he felt his prosthesis begin to resist his movements. Every now and then, his knee would need force to bend, or his leg would buckle slightly when it hit the ground.

Sasuke began to sweat with worry. He didn't dare stop to inspect it. He was absolutely _positive_ he'd switched his leg into its second mode (he had checked it every minute before the competition began).

So what was wrong?

_And why the _hell_ does it happen _now?!

Maybe it had something to do with the charger? His leg had never completely run out of battery power before. Perhaps it was a side effect, he thought. Perhaps he had done something wrong, like there was something he needed to do if it ever ran out of power.

Turning around, a head of scarlet appeared, getting closer and closer. Sasuke cursed inwardly and closed his eyes briefly, sweat pouring down his face. Gaara was coming closer, as was the finish line, which had yet to come into vision.

_One More Mile!_

It was a neon-green sign that had told him that as he passed it.

One more mile.

About eight more minutes.

He willed his leg to stay with him for eight more minutes. Just eight more minutes.

Gaara was now only a few meters behind him, looking calm, collected, and barely a sweat broken out on his pallid skin. Sasuke cursed once more when his leg almost buckled.

"Uchiha, you aren't looking well."

Sea foam green eyes had turned to inspect him from his side. Gaara, after seeing the Uchiha's leg almost buckle, had briefly gone into a sprint to inspect the boy from his side.

Sasuke ignored him, not wanting to be rude, but having no choice. If he spoke, he'd lose his breath, unlike the perfectly-calm Gaara.

"You're pale and sweating too much to be normal," Gaara continued. He was falling behind in step. Sasuke still continued on, wiping his sweat away from his eyes with the back of his hand. He was always a little pale. Why should he care this time around?

"Really, Uchiha. I think you've got a fever."

Fever.

Fever?

_Is that why it's so cold?_ Sasuke asked himself as he forced his knee to bend for the next step. He laughed humorlessly on the inside. _I have a fever! Isn't that great? A fucking fever during the biggest tournament of my life! And my leg hates me! This is great! Isn't this great? Just great! As if it possibly couldn't get any worse!_

Sasuke thought his number must have been thirteen, not seventy-seven; he had no luck with him that day. None at all. But he was glad Gaara couldn't keep with his pace and had fallen back two meters.

Suddenly, he stumbled.

He _stumbled._

Sasuke's mind had gone black in a sudden flash and all reality had slipped from him in a millisecond, losing control of his body in that swift amount of time to force him to almost fall, but he'd caught himself just in time and forced himself on.

"This competition isn't worth dying over, Uchiha," came Gaara's quiet voice from behind him. It didn't sound like he wanted the Uchiha out so _he_ could win. It sounded like Gaara's way of worrying.

_Yes it is,_ Sasuke replied in his mind. _It _is_ worth dying over._

Just when the world's temperature seemed to have dropped below freezing, just when Sasuke's mind spun and his eyesight blurred, he saw it. He turned the corner of the trail and saw it.

The finish line.

The second the crowd had seen him, they began to cheer him on. They were a good two hundred meters away, but Sasuke could still make them out. They were lined at the barriers, leaning over the fencing, with the sunset shimmering behind them. Sasuke could make out a news reporter talking to her posse of cameramen, as well as several professional photographers.

"Go Uchiha!" half the crowd called. The other half called for Gaara to hurry. He was a meter behind Sasuke.

Sasuke was a hundred meters away from the finish line now. Someone shouted "Look! The others are coming!" but he didn't dare turn around to look. All he could see in his blurring vision was the black-and-white checkered flag, the red ribbon that was calling him to pass through. He saw Itachi all the way at the end, watching him.

Watching him.

Watching him fall.

Fall.

Sasuke heard it. He heard it in the silence that suddenly pressed against his ears; he heard the crowd's concurrent gasp as his leg buckled and failed. The world seemed to turn into a silent movie. Colors were long gone from his vision. All he could see was the ground that was quickly coming up to meet him. All he could feel was numbness and cold and pounding in his skull.

His leg gave out. Even as he lay, sprawled on the floor, it wouldn't move to help him back up.

No.

It couldn't end like this.

No.

No!

"No!" Sasuke screamed into the ground.

Sound and color came back in a sudden flash, deafening him, roaring, droning through his mind. He heard Kakashi's distant shout of "No! Don't touch him!"

But someone was already hunching over him.

The cold hands were unfamiliar. Sasuke opened his tearing eyes to see two men uniformed in orange. Kakashi's protesting voice came back, muffled through the audience, and Sasuke suddenly saw what was coming, too.

And before he could stop it, one of the paramedics had seized his leg.

Had seized his leg.

And had pulled the leg of his pants from his left ankle.

From his left ankle.

And suddenly, the world was silent again.

Sasuke stood still, shock entering his body, fever shaking his chest and playing at his lungs so his breaths would come out in shortened wheezes. He was sure Gaara had long-since passed the finish line, but no one was cheering.

And suddenly . . .

". . . Oh my God! He's got a prosthetic leg!"

Sound came once more. Gasps and whispers and exclamations and cameras flashing. He could hear the excited gabber of the anchorwoman in the background.

"Sasuke! Sasuke!"

At last, a voice he recognized.

He could finally relax. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body went limp in the paramedic's arms.

Itachi leapt over the fence in a panicked frenzy. The anchorwoman and a cameraman followed him. He roughly pushed the paramedics away, threatening them, before grabbing his brother's limp body.

"Sasuke!" he called. "Sasuke, please! Wake up!"

"Uchiha Itachi, could you please tell us about Sasuke's hidden prosthetic leg?" the anchorwoman said. She thrust the mic into Itachi's face.

Itachi ignored her. He hugged Sasuke's shivering, sweating figure to his chest as cameras flashed, blinding him. The crowd was getting rowdy. The patrolmen from the trail were forced to hold them back as if they were a mob.

"This way."

Kakashi, Genma, and Kisame were at Itachi's side. Genma and Kisame held a blanket up to block reporters and cameras. Kakashi led the way with the aid of other patrolmen.

It felt like Itachi and Sasuke were idols and everyone else was either a bodyguard or paparazzi. Itachi held tightly to his little brother as he was led into the backseat of Kakashi's car, Genma wishing them luck from the outside.

"Uchiha Itachi!"

"Tell us about Sasuke!"

"What happened to his leg?!"

"Drive, man, drive!" Kisame urged Kakashi from the front seat. Kakashi stepped on the gas pedal and the car moved from the side of the road and away from the tournament where cameras still flashed after them.

"The hospital, Kakashi," Itachi whispered, not looking up. "Sasuke's coming down with something serious." He gripped his brother's shirt so tightly that his knuckles whitened.

The car was silent, far from the uproar that had been caused at the tournament. The streetlights were beginning to come on as the sun blinked from existence.

After a long moment of the intense silence, Itachi said, "It's going to be all over the news, isn't it?"

Kisame groaned and put one hand over his eyes, leaning on to the window. Kakashi sighed.

"Yeah," he whispered. "It was a live broadcast. No doubt you'll make front page news tomorrow."

Itachi hugged his brother tighter. ". . . This isn't going to be good for his mental health, is it?"

Kakashi hadn't thought that far ahead, but now that it came up, he wondered how violent of a reaction Sasuke would have towards what had happened. They'd have to keep sedatives close by and watch him at all times.

No one spoke for the rest of the quiet ride to the hospital. Itachi unpinned Sasuke's number from his shirt and wrapped his own vest around his brother's shaking body.

Tsunade was waiting for them when they entered through the sliding doors. She led the three men to an empty, private room.

"I was watching the news," she said grimly. "I can't stop the news from spreading to the papers. Freedom of press."

She had Itachi gently place Sasuke on the bed before she put the heart monitor clip on him. As she checked over his pulse, the calm and collected Itachi punched a nearby wall.

"He was so _happy_," the Uchiha whispered ominously into the wall. "He kept saying he was going to win that tournament. He was training for it day and night, passing out for it . . . Damn it . . ."

Kakashi took a seat. Kisame guided Itachi to one.

"It's going to affect him even more emotionally, not just because he's sad he didn't win something he trained his ass off for," whispered Kakashi. "Itachi, do you know what the prize for the tournament is?"

"He won't care about losing one lousy trophy, Kakashi. He's had plenty."

Kakashi shook his head sadly. "There was more to the prize than that. He wanted to keep it a surprise."

"Prize money of three thousand five hundred dollars."

Itachi stared disbelievingly at Tsunade. "He wanted to win the money . . ."

"For you, yes."

Itachi's eyes averted to his brother. Tsunade was removing his prosthetic to run some tests. She had seen his fall on the news and thought she had seen his knee buckle.

Itachi put his head in his hands, sighing heavily. After a short moment of stillness, he stood up and slowly went to Sasuke's bedside, leaning down over his brother's body as Tsunade began to hook an IV drip to him.

"I told you not to think about the money," he whispered. "I told you that I didn't care about the money." He gripped the bed sheets tightly. "I'm not our father."

Sasuke woke from unconsciousness seconds after the IV needle had been inserted, gasping for breath and groping for anything near him. Sweat had begun to drip down his face and tears were gathering in his eyes.

"Tell me it didn't happen," he said through his gasps, eyes staring at the wall ahead of him as he shook violently. "Tell me –"

Kisame saw it coming and ran forwards, grabbing the garbage bin in the room on the way to quickly place it beneath Sasuke's chin. The delirious Uchiha let his stomach's contents into the bin before falling back, panting harshly at the sudden lack of air.

"Alright, alright, just calm down, Sasuke," Tsunade whispered soothingly. "You don't want to get sedated."

"Did I lose?" Sasuke whispered, sinking into his pillow. "The tournament. I fell, didn't I? And everyone saw my leg, didn't they?"

"Sasuke, just rest. You've got a fever right now. We'll talk about everything later," continued Tsunade.

Sasuke's dilated eyes averted to Itachi, who had stayed silent.

"I lost the money, Itachi."

Tears were suddenly mingling with the sweat on his cheeks.

"You were supposed to be happy, Itachi. That money was supposed to pay off our debts. It was supposed to give you a break from work. I just ended up making everything worse."

"I'm still happy, Sasuke," Itachi whispered back.

Sasuke's mouth contorted into a snarl, which only ended up making him look more pitiful with the tears streaming from his bloodshot, dilated eyes. "Don't lie to me!"

"You're sick. Go to sleep."

"I _failed_, Itachi!"

"Go to sleep, Sasuke."

"Itachi!"

But the older Uchiha was already wordlessly leaving the room. Naruto suddenly opened the door from the other side before Itachi could reach the doorknob.

"Uh, hey, Itachi . . ." Naruto had begun to say softly, but Itachi sidled past him and closed the door behind himself. Naruto, confused, entered the room with unusual silence.

"It's best if you don't say anything, Naruto," Kakashi told him upon entry.

"I wasn't going to in the first place." He took a seat, staring at the delirious Uchiha. "Kiba's mom drove me here."

"Naruto!"

Sasuke suddenly sat upright. Naruto flinched. With a sweaty, shaking hand, Sasuke pointed at the blond. "Did I lose? At the tournament? Answer me!"

Naruto turned to Kakashi for assistance. "Is he . . . alright?"

"Just don't say anything, kid," answered Kisame.

"Naruto!"

Naruto's head snapped back to Sasuke.

"Answer me!" the Uchiha cried desperately, pitifully. "Answer me! Did I lose the race?! Did I lose the money?!"

Naruto's own eyes began to tear and he forced himself to look away, clamping his hands over his ears. His face twisted as he tried not to cry, bending his body forwards in attempt to drown out the scene.

"Naruto!"

"I'm sorry, Kakashi. I just can't work with this."

Several things happened in the next few minutes: Tsunade stuck a needle into Sasuke's arm. Sasuke went into a screaming fit until he passed out from the sedative. The sound of something shattering echoed in the hallways.

And Itachi came back with blood dripping from his fist.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

. . . I'm going to go run away now.


	15. It's Gonna Rain

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I'd get more sleep.

**Author's Note:** Okay! Super-rush time!

I'm in a big hurry. I've got to update and get the hell out of my house to work on a massive project! I'm sorry I couldn't reply to all of your reviews! I just don't have time!

I don't really like this chapter. The next chapter is the one I like a lot because it's got a lot of my sarcastic humor laced in. And this chapter has a few mushy, cheesy, corny bits in it, but hey - it's gotta happen some time, right?

Read and enjoy! I'm happy there are still readers in these busy, busy lives of ours.

**Chapter 15  
**…**:::It's Gonna Rain:::…  
****Bonnie Pink**

Both Uchihas were now asleep.

One shivered beneath the sheets of a hospital bed, curled up to one side with short breaths. His sleep had been forced. The other had fallen asleep accidentally. He sat in a chair, head lolled to his shoulder, with Tsunade at his side. She sat in a chair of her own.

"This is completely unlike him," she kept murmuring.

She held Itachi's hand in her left as her right held a pair of tweezers. A small bowl lay on the table beside her, containing pieces of blood-stained glass that varied in sizes.

"I'll pay for the mirror he broke," suggested Kisame.

"No need. It's no big deal, really." She pulled out a particularly large piece of glass from Itachi's bleeding knuckles.

"At least he's relieved some of that stress he's been building up," said Kakashi. "I think I'll buy him a punching bag for his birthday. It's an excellent stress reliever."

"Still able to crack lame jokes at a time like this, Hatake? You impress me."

"Thanks, Kisame . . . I think."

A knock was at the door. Shizune entered.

"Lady Tsunade," she said worriedly. "There're press and reporters at the door asking for Sasuke."

Tsunade sighed heavily, setting her tweezers down. "Shizune, please take care of this for me. Get the glass out of his hand, get some disinfectant on it, and bandage it up. If it needs stitches, get them done immediately. I'll be right back."

Shizune nodded and entered as Tsunade left. She picked up where her boss started.

"This is going to be all over the news," Naruto said absently, staring at his hands. "Everyone in school's going to talk about it."

"Hopefully by the time Sasuke is able to come back to school, it would've died down," said Kakashi.

There was a moment where Naruto took the time to contemplate what Kakashi had just said before he whirled around to meet Kakashi's eyes. "Wait, what do you mean? Sasuke's not coming back to school on Monday?"

"He's going to have to have a week off. This tournament should have taken a huge toll on his mental health. It's like taking three steps back from all the progress he's made in therapy."

Naruto twisted his mouth in a disapproving manner, but said nothing of it. He turned to stare at the motionless younger Uchiha once more. "This is some kind of inhuman torture onto him," he whispered. "This is something only movies and stories are made out of."

"Sometimes, I think we're all just living one large story," Kakashi agreed.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

The grim night stretched on. Tsunade eventually came back, her eyes wild and fierce. Words tumbled from her mouth in angry rants about reporters and journalists and paparazzi. She calmed herself down, ordering Shizune to return to the main desk, and took her seat by Itachi.

Itachi began to stir several minutes later. He brought his injured hand to his forehead and winced.

"Mm?" he mumbled drowsily, sliding in his seat to sit up. His back ached. He stared around, trying to process where he was.

Kakashi stood up. He was sick of the lack of action. "Okay, here's the plan," he said. He placed a hand on Itachi's back to steady him into a standing position. "Itachi, you're going to come home with me right now."

"And Sasuke?" the older Uchiha asked, wobbling dangerously on his own legs. He stared at his brother. "I can't leave him like that."

"You're going to."

Kakashi's reply was clipped. Short. Itachi stared at him sternly, trying to decipher the older man, but Kakashi's face was unreadable.

"You're going to stay in my house for a little while until things get sorted out. Sasuke is going to stay right here and Tsunade is going to be the one monitoring him, understood?"

"Kakashi –"

"We'll be back tomorrow around noon," Kakashi reassured. "That's when I'll decide what I'm going to do with Sasuke. But right now, you need your rest."

"Lady Tsunade –"

"I'll call you if anything happens. Don't worry."

Itachi let out a sigh of discontent, but there was nothing he could do. Kakashi's hand tightened over his shoulder. He allowed himself to be led through the door with Kisame not too far behind.

"Kakashi."

The man turned at the sound of his name. Kisame took Itachi from him and told him he would wait for Kakashi in the car.

"Mm?"

Tsunade turned to look at where Naruto had fallen asleep, his body bent over Sasuke's bed and his head buried in his arms. She placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

"Would you mind dropping him off at home?" she whispered quietly. "I'm going to stay late and I don't want him to go through anymore tonight."

A brief moment of silence ensued. Naruto was lifted deftly into powerful arms, still completely asleep and oblivious to the world. Kakashi gave a whispered parting, exited the room, and closed the door on Hell.

Tsunade immediately turned around to frown at the unmoving Uchiha. "Your life is too exciting for your own good," she told him pointlessly as she adjusted a few wires around his body. "And you've got too many co-stars in this movie of yours."

At ten o'clock, Tsunade left Sasuke's room to briefly check up on her other patients. She returned to find the Uchiha in the exact same position she'd left him. Eleven o'clock came quickly, and there were still no signs of progress. Tsunade received a call from Kakashi just before midnight. The man explained that Naruto was safely in bed and that Itachi had fallen asleep purely out of exhaustion. He asked about Sasuke.

Tsunade didn't have anything to reply with.

Midnight came and went. Tsunade now sat in Sasuke's room with a magazine and a steaming cup of black coffee, her legs crossed as she flipped through the pages to pass the time. Sasuke had shown no signs of movement or consciousness.

Tsunade wrapped her fingers around her mug of coffee and stood up to walk to the side of Sasuke's bed. She casually placed one hand on his forehead.

Fire.

It was what she felt. She pulled back, surprised. Thinking it was just because her hand had previously been in contact with her warm cup of coffee, she switched hands.

Fire.

Again.

Tsunade quickly set her cup down and ran from the room. She came back with a thermometer in hand. Without a moment's hesitation, she stuck the thermometer roughly into Sasuke's mouth and watched the mercury rise alarmingly.

"One hundred five!" she exclaimed when she brought the thermometer close to her face for inspection. "This isn't a fever. This is a serious case of influenza."

The remainder of the hour was spent over Sasuke. Tsunade donned a mask over her mouth to guard against the contagious nature of influenza as she changed the liquid in the IV drip twice and observed Sasuke's reactions to them.

The Uchiha's shivering had turned more violent. His pallid skin had reddened as if he had been scalded with boiling water, but not once did he come to consciousness. Tsunade put a hand on his shoulder to gently shake him awake. She needed him conscious lest he risk dehydration.

"Sasuke, wake up," she urged from behind her mask. "You need to drink water."

Silence.

Tsunade's attempts roughened. "Sasuke. Sasuke. Sasuke, come on."

Silence.

"Sasuke!"

At last, Sasuke's head moved ever-so-slightly. His bloodshot eyes opened by the slightest millimeter to stare deliriously at a blurry image of Tsunade. A light groan was all he could manage. Tsunade breathed a sigh of relief.

"You've got to drink a lot of water, Uchiha," she told him. She reached for a cup of water. "You've got an extreme case of influenza."

Sasuke merely closed his eyes once more. His head lolled to the side. Tsunade huffed.

"Sasuke, don't make this difficult."

Silence.

"I'm not afraid to force the water down your throat."

Silence.

Having no other choice, Tsunade grabbed the flesh of Sasuke's heated face and gently forced his mouth open, pouring the water in a few trickles at a time. Sasuke moaned lightly and gave a weak attempt to free his self. He choked on the water that entered his throat, coughing it up violently.

"Uchiha, please, just drink the water."

Tsunade sighed after another failed try, officially fed up with Sasuke's lack of cooperation. She cleaned the water from the Uchiha with a napkin and sat back as she contemplated on what to do. Sasuke's moaning grew louder by the second.

When Sasuke had given a particularly agonized moan, an idea sparked in Tsunade's mind. She filled a second cup with water and stood over the frail boy.

"You've probably got muscle aches," she told him. "I've put painkillers in the water. If you drink it, the aches are going to go away."

As she expected, Sasuke did not argue. He tried his best to open his eyes once more. They were completely reddened and the pupils had been dilated. With shaking hands, Sasuke reached out for the glass of water Tsunade held.

"You've got to sit up to drink the water."

But Sasuke continued to reach for the glass without shifting. Tsunade did not try to argue, knowing the Uchiha would continue to be stubborn. She allowed him to grasp the glass and when she made sure he had a firm hold, she let go, watching him attempt to bring the rim to his lips. Most of the water spilled over his cheeks and onto the pillow he was on, but some made it into his mouth and past his throat. Tsunade took the glass back when he was done.

"Are you cold?" she asked him.

Silence.

She took his shivering as a yes and pulled up the blanket around him, wiping the remaining water from his face.

"Look," she said when the Uchiha had closed his eyes once more. "The best thing you can do is try and eat and drink as much as you can to get energy so the influenza can pass over, understand?"

Silence. Obviously.

Tsunade stared at her watch. Two o'clock. She sighed and turned away from Sasuke. It was time to end her shift. She would be returning in a mere four hours anyway.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"I'm telling you, Kakashi, he doesn't want to listen to me. . . . No, not even that. About half an hour. Alright. Okay, bye."

Tsunade placed the phone back in its cradle and put one hand to her forehead. She had arrived half and hour ago at the hospital, only to find Sasuke in worse condition. His fever had not receded in the least and his dehydration had worsened. He refused to wake up and drink water, even when she told him she had placed a painkiller within.

Kakashi said he would be coming over with Itachi and so Tsunade reentered Sasuke's room, placing her surgical mask back over her face. She gently opened one of the Uchiha's eyelids. His eyes were still brightly red and dilated and were beginning to gain an unhealthy shadow beneath them.

His skin was sickly and taut tightly around his bones. Tsunade thought it was slightly disturbing the way she could see every bone and mentally scolded the Uchiha, telling herself that scolding him in reality would do no good.

"Lady Tsunade, Kakashi and Itachi are here," came Shizune's voice, followed by two figures in the doorway.

"Good morning," Kakashi chimed lightly despite the situation.

Itachi nodded in Tsunade's direction and went to inspect his brother.

"Wait, Itachi," said Tsunade. She took two surgical masks from her supply and handed them to both Itachi and Kakashi. "Influenza is contagious. I don't want to have to have two of you in the hospital, too."

"Do you know how he caught it?"

Itachi's voice came out muffled as he put the surgical mask on.

Tsunade motioned for Itachi and Kakashi to take a seat in the plastic white chairs that accompanied Sasuke's bed. "Naruto told me when I got home that they had been at the café before the tournament started and that someone behind Sasuke had been coughing. I'm guessing Sasuke caught some of the germs. Because Sasuke's body is so weak from malnutrition, blood loss, and improper treatment, his immune system is practically useless, so what should've been a simple fever is now a serious case of influenza."

"Treatment?"

"Nothing much."

"What?"

Tsunade crossed her arms over her chest. "Itachi, it's like a fever. It all depends on the immune system and the will of the patient. The best I can do is give him antiviral medication and things that relieve his symptoms. Sasuke needs to drink a lot of water and eat to strengthen his immune system and kill his fever, but he doesn't want to do anything."

Itachi turned to his little brother, placing one hand on his scorching forehead and the other on the metal railing of his bed. "Sasuke?" he whispered. "Will you drink something?"

Sasuke turned away weakly. Itachi frowned.

"Come on, Sasuke."

Silence. Again.

Itachi turned to Kakashi for answers, and then to Tsunade. "Maybe he's too weak?"

"It's not that, either. I poured water down his throat for him, but he chose to not swallow it. And when I offered him a glass of water that I said had painkillers in it, he was able to take it himself and chug it all down."

"Sasuke, why don't you want to drink anything?" asked Kakashi, getting up to kneel by the younger Uchiha's head.

Sasuke did not reply.

Itachi sighed and turned back to Tsunade. "So he can't get better if he doesn't want to get better? Is that what you're saying?"

"In short, yes."

"So the question is," began Kakashi, turning back to Sasuke, "why doesn't he want to get better?"

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kakashi returned to the hospital with Naruto at his side once school was over. Naruto had gratefully clung to the older man. He had been followed to school by a mass of reporters and had been followed _in_ school by crowds of students wanting to know what was going on. Questions after questions were fired at him in the hallways, in the classrooms, and even in the bathrooms. At one point, Genma yelled fiercely at the top of his lungs at the students in the hallway to stop bombarding Naruto with issues.

Genma had never yelled before.

Naruto felt like skipping school for the first time in his life. He was tempted to stay in the bathroom stalls and never come out until the last bell rang. He simply could not take it.

_"Naruto! Where's Sasuke?"_

_"What about his leg?"_

_"You knew, didn't you? Why didn't you say anything?"_

_"Did you ever touch it?"_

To his major relief, his friends had done everything in their power to help him through the day, asking no questions about Sasuke, even when they desperately wanted answers. They huddled around him in the hallways to protect him from the crowd of students; Kiba was particularly satisfied with slapping every male that decided to confront Naruto (he still could not bring himself to hit a girl, no matter how annoying they were).

"Do you think it'll die down?" whispered Naruto as they entered the hospital.

". . . Eventually," was all Kakashi could offer.

The older man knocked once on Sasuke's door and slid it open. Itachi was no longer present in the room, but Tsunade was still there, changing the fluid of the IV drip. She turned around at the added presences and motioned to the masks on a table in the corner.

"Where's Itachi?" asked Kakashi as he donned his mask.

"I sent him to get a few things from the store." She frowned. "How was your day, Naruto?"

"Crap."

Giggle.

It wasn't Naruto that had uttered the noise, nor Kakashi, or Tsunade. And so there was only a single other occupant in the room that could have made such a sound.

Sasuke.

The boy had broken out into full, weak laughter, the noise sounding like gurgling from his cracked lips. It was a cold, sickly noise that sent shivers all around.

"Sasuke?" Kakashi whispered cautiously, moving to the teenager.

Sasuke had taken on a sickly yellow complexion by this point, and his eyes had sunken with drastic shadows. His laughter stopped as abruptly as it had come. The other occupants of the room exchanged wary glances.

"Sasuke, what's wrong?"

Sasuke seemed to sink into the pillows more. His heartbeat had been slowed due to the fever, and so the dull _beep . . . beep . . ._ of the heart monitor was the only sound for a while.

"If his heartbeat gets any slower," whispered Tsunade, "it could be fatal."

Another bout of laughter escaped the Uchiha's lips and he turned on his side slowly, wrapping his bony hands around his shivering body.

The door suddenly slid open and Itachi entered with a small bag of groceries in his hand. At the feel of the thickening air, he took the situation in at a second's glance and was at his brother's side.

"Sasuke? Come on," he urged. "You've got to get better."

"Why?"

The faint reply was unexpected.

"Why?" repeated Sasuke, his chapped lips barely moving. His eyes twitched but did not open.

"What do you mean 'why'?" continued Itachi.

He knelt beside Sasuke's head to hear well. Tsunade motioned for Kakashi and Naruto to take their seats.

Sasuke smiled and turned his head towards Itachi, finally opening his bloodshot eyes. He looked demonic. His hair, having grown to his shoulders, fell over his face in oily wisps and a line of teenage stubble covered his chin.

"Why do I need to get better?"

"So you can live, Sasuke. You're killing yourself right now."

And then the question that Itachi didn't think he would ever hear:

"Why do I need to live?"

There was silence in the room for only a brief moment before Kakashi stood up, angry. "You said you wouldn't think about that again, Sasuke!" he exclaimed, his visible eye fierce and furious. "You told me you wanted to live!"

"What's there to live for?!"

The younger Uchiha's eyes had opened wider and his voice had come out in a hoarse, weak exclamation, but all the venom was present.

"I tried to make everyone happy," he continued, turning to Itachi. "I tried to make Dad happy. I tried to make Mom happy. I tried to make _you_ happy! But everything I do ends up being _pointless_! Things turn out worse, or no one notices, or I'm ignored! So why can't you just let me give up?"

"You don't live life to make everyone happy, Sasuke!" Itachi's voice was raised in volume. "No one does that!"

"At least I've been trying to make it better!" retorted Sasuke, his eyes fierce.

"By what? By giving up? By withering away on a hospital bed? Is that what you think makes life better?"

Sasuke was silent. His head pounded, his stomach churned, and his eyes watered, but he didn't dare let the weaknesses show.

"You're making life _worse_ by giving up," Itachi continued in a softer voice. "I don't care that you lost the money. I don't care about losing something we've never had. But Sasuke, I can't lose you."

"I said I wanted to live, but no one cared," Sasuke croaked out.

"That's not true. It's because you didn't _let_ anyone care. You didn't try and talk to anyone," Kakashi decided to answer. Sasuke promptly ignored him, but his conscience stabbed at him, telling him Kakashi had a point.

"I just wanted to make you happy, Itachi."

"If you really want to make me happy, Sasuke," whispered Itachi, brushing a strand of hair from Sasuke's shadowed eyes, "you're going to get better."

Sasuke silenced and closed his eyes. Itachi grabbed the glass of water from the nearby table and held it up.

"Will you drink?"

Sasuke turned his head away.

Itachi sighed heavily and stood up, running one hand through his hair. He turned to the other occupants. "I'm going to go back to our house to get some things," he said. Without waiting for a reply, he left the room.

Naruto turned to Sasuke.

"I live my life to _see_ people happy."

Kakashi didn't want to tell Naruto that the blond was a special kind of person.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Itachi instinctively reached for the light switch upon entering the Uchiha household. His hand only fell to his side when he remembered that nothing was going to happen. The house was still somewhat dark, with the curtains pulled over the windows to trap the sunlight out.

Nonetheless, the Uchiha maneuvered through the house without the need for light. He had everything memorized – every inch of fraying carpet, every angle of the furniture. They had never moved anything around since moving in.

And so Uchiha Itachi failed to know that something _had_ been changed – that is, until he suddenly felt a sharp pain shooting through his toe.

He stepped back, mildly surprised. Something was behind the couch that shouldn't have been. He crouched down to inspect it closely in the dim light peeking through the curtains.

Bags.

Bags filled with . . . wood?

Itachi dragged the bags across the floor to the middle of the living room and went to pull the curtains back. Light came pouring in like a river, running its current along every inch of the room until it was submerged in illumination. Itachi had a better view of the bags and immediately began to take their contents out.

He was stunned.

His hand reached for the largest thing first, pulling it out with slight difficulty. It was an art canvas. The frame was professionally done, with the canvas attached neatly with nails on the back. The blank canvas called to be painted upon. Three other canvases were hidden within the same bag, each growing smaller in size.

Itachi pulled out the smaller things from the other bag: a handmade pallet, tubes of paint, chalk, and a handmade wooden box. The box was decorated with engraved metal Uchiha fans and polished to a fine lacquer. Itachi opened it to find a single compartment filled with a variety of brushes, each embedded with a single silver Uchiha symbol.

Silence ensued for a long while. Itachi sat on the floor, absentmindedly fondling the supplies in his hands as his mind flashed to the recent scene in the hospital.

_"I tried to make _you_ happy! But everything I do ends up being _pointless!"

_"Things turn out worse, or no one notices, or I'm ignored!"_

_"I just wanted to make you happy, Itachi."_

Itachi's eyes swept over the art supplies once more.

"How long . . .?" he whispered to himself. "How long have these been here?"

_". . . no one notices . . ."_

_". . . to make you happy . . ."_

Uchiha Itachi turned to stare long and hard at the neglected neon orange hat hanging in a lonely corner of them room before he stood up with a new purpose for the day.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kisame was now present in the hospital room, his leg shaking up and down instinctively. His eyes moved from Naruto, who was helping Tsunade attempt to hydrate Sasuke as best as they could, to Kakashi, who kept glancing at his watch.

"He's probably just clearing some things up," Kisame said reassuringly. He had entered the hospital an hour prior, rather calm about the situation, but his trademark smile was completely eliminated. "I called him two hours ago and he said he was working on something."

"Well, it's been four hours since he left here," said Kakashi. "What could he possibly be working on?"

"If you want me to check up on him, I could, you know."

Kisame stood up and maneuvered around Naruto. The blond was leaning over Sasuke's bed to lay a soaking cloth over the unconscious boy's forehead in a cliché manner.

The second Kisame opened the door and stepped out of it, he stepped back in with an exclamation of, "Itachi!"

But the older Uchiha did not return the greeting. He swept inside of the room as if he had been running from an explosion and promptly stood in front of his brother's bed.

"Wake up, Sasuke," he ground out rather forcefully.

Kisame took in his peculiar appearance, cocking his head to the side. Itachi's sleeves were rolled up to his elbow and his hair was held back and hidden beneath the familiar presence of a neon orange hat. Paint covered his arms, hands, and face in splatters of colors that he hadn't bothered to clean.

When Sasuke did not stir, Itachi repeated his command. He placed the object that had been in his hands on Sasuke's bed. Kisame raised an eyebrow.

A canvas.

"You said you wanted to make me happy," Itachi told his brother. He moved closer to Sasuke, placing the canvas by his brother's head. "So I'm showing you that I am."

Tsunade pulled Naruto back from the bed and the two stood to one side of the room with Kakashi and Kisame, watching the scene affront of them with interest and anticipation. Sasuke opened his eyes weakly to stare at the canvas that Itachi still held up. The heart monitor did not fail to record the increase in his heart beat as he stared at the painting.

"Remember, Sasuke?" Itachi asked in a softer voice. "This is what you lived for." He watched Sasuke reach shakily for the painting before he left the frame to his little brother and sat down. He reached up to his head with a painted hand to pull the neon orange hat from his head. "I _am_ happy, Sasuke. I don't care what goes on around us. I just don't want to lose you."

He gently placed the hat on Sasuke's head.

"Boogeyman-repellant headgear, check?"

Sasuke's eyes traveled over every inch of the painting; his hands felt every edge of the frame; his mind took in every color, every brushstroke, every shade before the faintest sound escaped his lips.

"Check."

Naruto's own eyes began to tear for the tears the Uchihas refused to give.

Sasuke pressed the painting to his chest and pushed the hat over his face so no one could see his reddening eyes. Tsunade turned to Itachi.

"It turns out there's another cure for influenza," she told him with a smile.

"And what would that be?"

"You."

Kisame could not let the statement go untouched. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest. "That was be_yond_ lame, Lady Tsunade. I can come up with a thousand better one-liners than _that_." Yet he turned to Sasuke with a sad smile adorning his bluish face. "But it's true."

Sasuke gently moved the canvas to the side of his bed. He pushed the hat harder over his eyes with both hands and kept them there.

"Kakashi," he whispered, not moving, but knowing that the man was walking towards him. The entire room was listening. "You told me to come to you when I think I'd need help."

He lifted the hat from his eyes by the slightest inch and turned to stare past Itachi's figure. Tear tracks glistened on his hollowed cheeks, but his eyes were firm and determined.

". . . Help."

Kakashi smiled sadly from beneath his mask. He reached for the glass of water on the table in the corner and held it up. His single eye caught a glimpse of the canvas that was set carefully against Sasuke's bed and his smile only grew softer.

Itachi had painted a masterpiece.

It was a beautiful painting of a small scene. A young Sasuke – Kakashi thought he was around five or so – had his arms and legs around his mother, underwear adorning his head and a red cape tied around his neck. Mikoto was smiling radiantly, her hands holding the equally radiant Sasuke up. Itachi was in the corner of the painting, his trademark smirk in place. Oddly enough, there was underwear on his head as well.

_The Boogeyman Chronicles_, Kakashi recalled Itachi saying.

"Where do we begin?"

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke now sat up in bed, weakly lolling against the headboard, with Itachi's painting and hat at his side. It was an hour after his confession to Kakashi and the older man had immediately plunged into action. Sasuke had been helped into a sitting position by Tsunade as Itachi left to clean up. He had drunken six glasses of water, but was still too weak to be able to hold food down. Tsunade said it was natural and that now that Sasuke was determined, his energy would gradually come back.

Kisame had gone down to the hospital's cafeteria to retrieve a light meal for Sasuke and Tsunade had left to retrieve another packet for the IV drip. Sasuke was left alone in the room with Kakashi and Naruto. The blond sat by Sasuke with a cup of water in his hands and a surgical mask over his face.

"Don't you have homework to do?" asked Sasuke weakly.

Simply because he was determined to get past his influenza did not mean that his influenza would pass up immediately. His head still pounded from the effects of a powerful migraine, his heart rate was still slowed, and it still felt like someone was digging his heel into his gut.

"Why, so I can leave?" Naruto replied with a cheeky grin still visible despite his mask, trying to lighten the mood.

Sasuke attempted to mimic his expression. "Duh."

"Well too bad. I only have homework in one class and I don't have that class tomorrow."

"So you're going to stand there with that glass of water all day?"

"It depends. Are you going to drink it?"

"I feel like I'm going to throw up."

"I'll stand over there, then."

Naruto jokingly moved from the bed to the corner of the room, but Sasuke wasn't joking, and Kakashi quickly caught sight of this. He searched the room for any sign of a garbage bin that Sasuke had been acquainted with so many times before, but there was none. There was, however, a bag that had been carelessly tossed aside after having been emptied of its contents by Tsunade.

Kakashi quickly dashed for the bag and handed it to the Uchiha, stepping aside as soon as he did so. Sasuke leaned forward slightly, wishing for the wave of nausea to pass. He tried to even his breathing with deep inhales and exhales.

After a long moment of stillness, Sasuke leaned back on the headboard in relief. Naruto let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding and shifted closer to the Uchiha's bed.

"I'm going to find a trash bin," said Kakashi as he left the room.

Naruto turned to Sasuke. "Sorry," he whispered, setting the cup of water down.

"Why are _you_ sorry?" the Uchiha asked. He put a hand to his forehead and could not help the moan that escaped his lips from the pain in his joints. "I should be. I ruined the whole tournament and your school year."

Naruto frowned. "You didn't ruin my school year."

Sasuke didn't reply. Instead, he pushed the covers off of his body and attempted to climb down from the bed. His prosthetic leg was still with Tsunade, however, and Naruto grew worried at the way the Uchiha was pulling at the dozens of wires and clips attached to his body.

In an instant, the blond stood affront of Sasuke, pushing him back into bed.

"What the heck do you think you're doing?" he hissed.

"Rehabilitation," was Sasuke's simple reply. He struggled against Naruto's force, but it was no use. With his influenza, he could barely push a feather.

"Trying to rehabilitate yourself won't work. You need Kakashi, and you need to get better."

"Naruto –"

"No, Sasuke, just get back in bed," insisted Naruto. He pushed harder, feeling the prominence of Sasuke's breastbone. "Let's just talk. Why'd you ruin my school year?"

Sasuke was bitter when he submitted. He moved reluctantly back into his original position and pulled the covers over him to suppress his shivering.

"You've got reporters following your every move because you were seen with me, and for some reason, you'd rather be in this hospital room than out with your friends at Genma's party." He stared at the blond who had turned away. "That's right. I didn't forget there was an after party today."

"I'm in here because you're my friend, too, remember?" said Naruto. "If you had a friend in the hospital and a party to go to, wouldn't you pick the friend in the hospital?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"The guys on the track team say hi, by the way," Naruto continued. "And they would've come, but Genma told them to wait a while –"

"Who won?"

The question was sudden. Sasuke slid down into a resting position feebly and closed his eyes. His hands fisted the bed sheets beneath him in a loose grip. Naruto sighed.

"Gaara," he said. "He was the only one that passed the finish line."

Kakashi, Tsunade, and Kisame suddenly flooded his room, officially with the worst timing. Kisame silently set a tray of food down on the mobile table in the corner as Tsunade walked to Sasuke's IV drip to change the fluid.

"Any better?" she asked Sasuke casually.

Half of Sasuke wanted to raise his middle finger high. The sensible half simply groaned in response.

"I found tomato soup," said Kisame, drawing the table towards Sasuke's bed. "Are you okay with drinking it now?"

"As long as no one feeds it to me," Sasuke replied without the slightest hint of humor.

Tsunade walked around the room, checking over several of the monitors and wires connected to Sasuke's body. She frowned. "You're still shivering, and your heart rate is still slow, but you've got a very minor improvement in skin tone." She watched Sasuke fiddle with the spoon he was handed, but she didn't dare offer assistance.

Itachi reentered, cleaned of any paint and his hair tied back neatly.

_"I feel pretty, oh so pretty. I feel pretty, and witty, and –"_

"Sorry," said Kisame before he put his cell phone to his ear and walked to the corner of the room. His attempt at privacy, however, failed. Deidara's panicked voice rang clearly through the silence.

_"Kisame! I can only cover for you for so long, yeah!"_

Kisame looked at his watched and let out a string of curses. "Oh crap!" he said, more to himself than to Deidara. "I'm late for work! What excuse did you give the manager?"

_"I had to get creative, yeah? So I told him you were helping out a magician and he locked you in a box for a test. But he lost the keys, yeah, so you're stuck in the box until the magician figures out how to get you free!"_

"Did it work?"

Loud shouting was suddenly audible on Deidara's side of the conversation, forcing Kisame to hold the phone several inches from his ear. Something shattered in the background and Deidara yelped before everything went silent.

Someone had hung up.

Kisame looked around the room and gave a sheepish smile. "I'm really sorry," he said, "but I've got to get to work."

"Don't worry about it," said Itachi.

Kisame clapped his best friend on the back and turned to Sasuke. "I'll be back to annoy you when I can, kid," and then to everyone, "Don't have too much fun without me."

Conversation elapsed into comfortable silence once Kisame left. Sasuke was having trouble bringing the spoon to his lips without his hand shaking, but the tomato flavor that burst in his mouth when the soup passed his lips was overwhelming and he craved more.

"I'm going to move Sasuke to another room," Tsunade announced. Sasuke's crimson-rimmed eyes turned to her in questioning. "You don't need as much heavy machinery to help you along, and I want you to have a window for fresh air since you won't use the oxygen mask as often anymore," she explained, unfastening several clips from Sasuke's body.

"But first," said Kakashi, "a shower. And a haircut. And a shave, too, while we're at it."

Sasuke turned to give a weaker version of his infamous glare before turning to his brother for assistance. Itachi simply raised an eyebrow.

"He's right, you know," he said. "You haven't cut your hair since the beginning of the new year, and you're starting to grow a beard."

"I don't have a –"

Itachi held up a razor and a scissor.

"Lady Tsunade had asked me to get them previously."

Sasuke tried to intensify his glare, but to no avail. He ended up wincing slightly when Tsunade slid the IV needle from his hand.

"But –"

"There's a full bathroom down the hall," supplied Tsunade. She turned to Itachi. "I want you to go with him. I need to speak with Kakashi. Naruto, you go, too. I'll just get the wheelchair and –"

"Oh, _hell_ no." Sasuke's snarl had retained all of its feral intimidation despite the pounding migraine that threatened to burst his skull. "There is _no way_ I'm getting in a wheelchair."

"It's just for a few minutes, Sasuke –"

"No."

"There's no way with the pain in your joints and your fever –"

"_No._"

Itachi smirked at Tsunade's rather dramatic huff of frustration and at his brother's stubborn determination.

"Fine."

Tsunade exited the room briefly, coming back with Sasuke's prosthesis. "I fixed the joints and gave it a full charge," she said, handing the leg to its owner. "But I doubt you'll be able to get out of that bed and on your feet in the first place."

Now that Tsunade doubted him, Sasuke immediately set out to prove her wrong, and Itachi knew. The younger Uchiha fixed his leg into place with minor difficulty and slipped the covers off of his body completely, leaving him in the rather embarrassing hospital gown he had been dressed with.

Very slowly, Sasuke tried to slide himself off of the bed. His legs touched the cold tiling of the floor and wobbled dangerously.

"I told you, your muscles are too weak to . . ."

But Tsunade trailed off, smirking. Sasuke had managed to pull himself up into just barely a standing position, leaning heavily against the wall. His face was contorted into an expression of pain, but he held his ground.

"Stupid Uchiha pride," Tsunade teased. Sasuke managed a haughty smirk. "Kakashi, if you don't mind, I'd like to speak to you while I get the new room set up. Itachi, when everything's done, come find me in room eighty-one, okay?"

Sasuke waited for Tsunade and Kakashi to leave the room before he took his next step. He almost collapsed onto the floor, but he reached out for the railing of the bed just in time.

"I really don't think you should be moving so soon," said Naruto, his hands out in front of him instinctively to steady Sasuke if he fell again. "You're still sick."

But Sasuke took another measured step. And another. And another. His right hand supported himself on the wall until he was finally at the door, aching at his joints and out of breath, but satisfied.

"Don't ever tell him what he should and shouldn't do, Naruto," Itachi said lightly as he gathered several items into his arms. An amused gleam shone in his eyes for a split second. "He's an Uchiha."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "You're starting to sound like your own species."

"It's possible."

Itachi watched his brother ignore the current conversation. Sasuke's eyes were closed in an effort to put all his power into moving from the room and down the hall. He moved slowly, his knees threatening to give out on him.

The hallway was quiet for a while. Sasuke continued to struggle on, leaning against the wall from time to time to regain his breath and refocus his eyes. Voices were heard every now and then from nurses and doctors roaming the halls, and the occasional _beep_ came from rooms Sasuke managed to pass.

"This room, here," said Itachi, pointing to a door to Sasuke's left.

He pushed it open and allowed Sasuke and Naruto entrance inside. Sasuke wordlessly grabbed onto Naruto's shoulder for an instant before returning to the wall.

The room was separated into three areas: a long line of sinks, a long line of toilet stalls, and four shower stalls, with a stack of plastic chairs in a corner. Itachi noted with a mental stab of remorse that the mirror he had previously smashed his fist into had been replaced. He sent a fleeting glance to the scabs on his fist.

"Naruto and I will be by the sinks," he said at last, motioning for Naruto to move to the destination. "Take a quick shower and come. I'll cut your hair when you're done."

Naruto watched Sasuke begin a slow journey to the stalls. He waited until Sasuke was out of earshot before he to Itachi.

"Aren't you worried?"

Itachi pulled one of the plastic chairs from the stack and set it in front of a sink. "Worried about what?" he asked as he folded the towel he had brought with him. "I'm going to give this to him."

"About Sasuke," Naruto quickly replied before Itachi left hearing range. Itachi disappeared from view for a few moments around the corner and reappeared without the towel. "He's weak. He could really hurt himself."

"Of course I'm worried," Itachi replied without a second's hesitation. "But I can't help Sasuke with everything. I need to trust him with making the right decisions on his own." He stopped for a second, thinking things over in his head. "It's worked pretty well. I can't guarantee it, though."

Naruto let a soft sigh escape his lips.

"I guess you're right."

But he couldn't help glancing in the direction of the shower stalls every now and then.

Sasuke emerged from the shower minutes later in his hospital gown. His hair, drenched and covered loosely in the towel Itachi had given him, reached a few centimeters past his shoulders. He leaned weakly against the wall as he tried to walk on his legs that threatened to give out on him.

Itachi was at his side in three large strides, taking Sasuke's arm and putting it around his shoulder.

"I think that's enough time trying to walk on your own," he said.

Another hand rested around his brother's waist to support him as Itachi guided Sasuke to the chair he had placed in front of the sink. Sasuke did not protest. He leaned delicately against his brother's figure, his pallor whitened, but his eyes, nose, and cheeks still brightly red with fever.

When he sat down, his head lolled back to rest on the edge of the chair and he groaned deeply. "Everything hurts," he managed to say through gritted teeth.

"I'll ask Lady Tsunade for a painkiller when we get to the new room," replied Itachi. "Is it too painful to lift your head?"

Sasuke did so, and Itachi began his work on his hair. He pulled a comb through a piece of Sasuke's dark locks to even the ends and cut off several inches, ending his bangs just below his chin.

As his brother continued his work, Sasuke reached for the razor on the rim of the sink. Naruto caught sight of his hand shaking.

"No way," he told Sasuke. He grabbed the Uchiha's wrist and took the razor from him. "Your hand is shaking. You're going to slice your whole face off if you try and shave."

"Would you mind doing it for him, Naruto? I'd like to get back to the room as quickly as possible."

"Wait, wait, have you _shaved_ before?"

Sasuke was suddenly alert, trying to pinpoint the blond through his blurry vision. Not once had he seen any sign of stubble on the blonde's face.

"Of course I have!" Naruto said.

Sasuke didn't believe him.

"If a part of my lip gets cut off, I swear, Uzumaki, I will rip your –"

"Tilt your head this way, Sasuke."

Itachi lightly yanked Sasuke's head downwards, cutting off his speech.

"Naruto."

Sasuke sat still as Naruto applied the shaving cream to his chin, not daring to move even though his aching neck protested painfully. Itachi continued to even out Sasuke's hair to just below his chin. Inches of sable hair fell to the towel Itachi had placed on the floor.

"Okay, don't move."

_Really?_ Sasuke thought bitterly.

He sat there for the next few minutes, feeling the razor gently brush against his skin and the mild tugs on his hair. Naruto and Itachi finished around the same time, both of them stepping back briefly to admire their work.

"Looking good, Uchiha," commented Naruto. He handed Sasuke a paper towel to wipe the excess shaving cream off.

Itachi picked the towel of hairs from the floor and shook it over a trash can in the corner before setting the towel in the hamper at the edge of the sinks. He looked back at Sasuke to find him inspecting his complexion in the mirror.

"All you need is to eat something," said Naruto.

Sasuke grimaced.

_That's not all I need to do._

He tried to stand from his chair. His knees gave out on him and he collapsed forward, falling onto Naruto before erupting in a fit of coughs. Naruto gave a quick yelp of surprise and tried to support the Uchiha before Itachi came to his aid and lifted the Uchiha into a bride's carry.

"I can _walk_," Sasuke slurred heatedly after his coughs receded slightly.

"Yes, like you've just demonstrated," was his brother's dry reply.

Sasuke wanted to roll his eyes, but the shooting pain from his back forced him to close his eyes tightly and grit his teeth in pain as he arched his body in Itachi's hands. His breaths began to come out in light wisps, then wheezes, then gasps.

"Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed in alarm.

"Don't worry, Naruto."

Itachi's pace was hurried, nonetheless.

Tsunade and Kakashi turned around simultaneously at the sound of gasps coming from behind the door before Itachi's presence was made, with Sasuke in his arms and Naruto at his heels.

"Put him on the bed," Tsunade was quick to respond, mentally thanking herself that out of all the machines she had decided to keep, the oxygen mask was one of them. The second Sasuke's head hit the pillow, she strapped the mask around his mouth and nose and turned the machine on, watching the clear plastic fog up with each convulsion.

"Easy, Sasuke," she said, placing one hand on his chest. "Deep breaths. Move your chest."

Sasuke coughed several times into the oxygen mask before his convulses died down, leaving him limp and weak against the pillows. Tsunade removed the mask from his face and asked Naruto to open the window in the room.

The new room was smaller, but not as clustered and crowded with tables and machines as the previous room had been. Sasuke's bed was in a corner with a table separating the bed and the window. The window poured beautiful sunlight in the room that no fluorescent bulb could ever supply. Itachi's painting and neon orange hat were positioned on the table so that Sasuke could see them from any angle.

Sasuke groaned childishly and turned over on the bed, gathering his knees to his chest.

"Nope," Kakashi suddenly said. He moved to softly turn the Uchiha over. "If we're going to start rehabilitation, you can't keep curling into a ball like that. You've got to start sitting upright."

Immediately, Sasuke was trying to sit upright, his head threatening to fall to his shoulders like a dead weight, but determination enabling him to lean his back against the bed's headboard. Tsunade stuck the needle for the IV drip carefully into his hand before Kakashi turned back to the remaining occupants of the room.

"Do you mind if Sasuke and I have a few minutes alone to talk?" he asked.

Sasuke inwardly groaned and rolled his eyes, but he tried to maintain his indifferent mask on the outside (and failed).

"I've got other patients to tend to, anyway," Tsunade supplied. She turned to stare pointedly at Itachi.

"I'll go get Sasuke's next meal," the older Uchiha contributed. "Naruto, would you care to join me?"

Naruto's figure lingered at the doorway, frowning, but eventually complied and followed Itachi and Tsunade from the room, sliding the door shut behind him. The second the _click_ of confirmation rang in the silent room, Kakashi turned back to Sasuke.

"Therapy lesson number one," he said.

"You've got to be kidding me."

"The tournament."

Kakashi's single eye immediately searched for any sign of reaction from Sasuke at the mention of the word. Sasuke knew what he was doing. He had been through this type of therapy before. He remembered his very first lesson. Kakashi had mentioned the word "Bentley" and the Uchiha had fallen into a frenzied panic attack, assaulting Kakashi with a flail of limbs and objects.

No, Sasuke thought. He wasn't going to submit to this kind of therapy again.

But he couldn't keep his hands from clenching tightly around his hospital gown.

"What about it?" he ground out through gritted teeth. Retaliating meant he was responding positively to the therapy; it meant his mind hadn't flashed back to a scene from the tournament or anything closely related.

"The money."

_BAM!_

Flashback.

Crimson words, outlined in black and bolded and capitalized swirled around his mind in a colorful conga line, chanting a surreal mantra. _Eviction. You owe . . . Eviction. Meet requirements . . . Eviction._

Sasuke tried to force his mind from the words. He closed his eyes tightly to will away the images.

"What the hell are you trying to do, Kakashi?"

His teeth threatened to grind into nothingness from the pressure he applied to them. A twitch in his jaw became prominent with every passing second. Nevertheless, Kakashi's face was locked in an expressionless stare.

"Malaria."

_BAM!_

Sasuke's mind had already set itself into a mode of memories, each word coming with distinct recollections that plagued his thoughts and clouded his eyes. His mother's smiling face came spiraling into his psyche, smiling and laughing –

"Coma."

– And suddenly, she was coughing and convulsing and her image was fading away, out of his reach. Sasuke began to grow restless in his bed. He turned sharply to the side, pulling at the IV stand. His overwhelming migraine threatened to send him into unconsciousness.

Kakashi didn't bat an eyelash.

"Losing."

_BAM! BAM! BAM!_

Cameras flashed. Sasuke felt the ground push against his chest. Gasps rang in his ears.

_BAM!_

Back to reality.

Kakashi narrowly missed avoiding a fist coming in his direction with anger-driven force. He ducked just in time before standing from his chair.

"Get _out!_" screamed Sasuke.

The Uchiha was hunched forwards, his breathing ragged and harsh through his teeth. His eyes were filled to the brim with murderous intent as he stared over the older man in front of him.

Kakashi's expressionless face did not change. His single eye swept over the breathless Uchiha to take in every detail through a therapist's view. He watched Sasuke collapse weakly into his pillows once more after the adrenaline seeped from his body. One boney, shaking hand reached out for the set of glass cups at the table on his side.

"Get. Out."

Sasuke sustained the cup in the air like a weapon. It shook violently.

Kakashi knew when to stop. He turned around wordlessly to leave the room. The door hummed softly in the thick silence as it was opened.

Itachi and Naruto were just coming around the corner; Itachi carried a tray in his hands. At the sight of Kakashi, he raised an eyebrow in questioning.

"What did you do?" asked Naruto inquisitively.

Kakashi closed the door behind him. Through the walls, Sasuke gave a strangled cry of frustration before the distinct shattering of glass echoed in the hallway. He had thrown the cup.

"I don't think you should go in there for a while," Kakashi said in monotone before his hand slid from the doorknob behind him and he turned to walk away.

----------------------------------------------------

Yay! More angst!

I just wanted to let you guys know that the next chapter will either be a **day early** or a **day late**. I have an MUN conference to attend, and the last day is Sunday. Not only is my forum supposed to stay the longest in debate, but then there's the factor of the after party that will probably end at midnight. Sorry.


	16. Through the Glass

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . his name would be "Jorjay".

**Author's Note:** Ladies and gentlemen, I apologize for the delay, but I did warn you.

As expected, MUN took too much of my time, but now that it's over, this story is back to being my number one priority.

I really didn't like these last few chapters, including this one. I felt like there were a lot of explanations to go through, you know? Like they didn't take action, and they felt like they were forced. But the next chapter will definitely take action, so if you want to judge something, judge the next chapter.

Please excuse typos. My eyes are tired and since I'm the author, my mind automatically adds missing words while I read, so I don't notice them.

Oh! And lots of dry humor, especially with descriptions.

**Chapter 16  
**…**:::Through the Glass:::…  
****Stone Sour**

Sasuke couldn't sleep.

No matter how hard he tried, no matter how desperately his eyes ached to close, he simply could not bring himself to sleep.

It was nearing midnight. After Sasuke's fury attack, Tsunade had been called in to stabilize him before leaving to tend to an emergency patient that had just been wheeled in from an accident. The glass of the cup that Sasuke had launched against the furthest wall had been cleaned after he was calmed.

Itachi left at eleven beneath Tsunade's instructions in order to get a good night's sleep so he could wake early in the morning. Naruto was forced to leave soon after that. Sasuke was now alone, with the curtains pulled against the window and the main lights of the room turned off.

_Grrroww._

And by the sounds of his stomach, he was hungry, too.

He found that he was hungrier more often than he wanted to be. Tsunade said this was good, and she would begin daily checkups tomorrow, including weight to see if he gained anything. Sasuke didn't think tomato soup and crackers really packed on the pounds.

_Grroww._

Sigh.

It wasn't like he was going to get sleep anyway.

Sasuke removed the covers from his body and reached over to grab his prosthetic leg from the charger Tsunade had installed by his bed. Painfully, he slipped the IV needle from his hand. He thought he would head to the cafeteria for a late night snack.

Easier thought than done.

The aches and pains gained from the influenza only intensified. He leaned heavily against the walls to guide him to the door as his breathing immediately became labored.

"Damn it," he cursed. He could feel his migraine coming back.

The cafeteria was not far from where his room was. He remembered from his first trips to the hospital that he had only visited it three times willingly. Its doors were easily noticeable at the end of the hallway, light pouring through the glass windows.

No one was in the cafeteria, Sasuke noticed when he pushed through the doors. The lights above the kitchen were shut off, creating a dark atmosphere in the middle, yet the tables were still drowned in light.

"What did you expect, Uchiha?" chided Sasuke beneath his breath. "It's midnight."

There had to be food, he thought, his tired eyes scanning the room briefly. He didn't care if it wasn't going to be served to him. His stomach demanded food – _now!_ Perhaps he could raid the kitchen. There was always a refrigerator packed with necessities.

The fluorescent lighting in the corner of the cafeteria suddenly shined brighter as if it was purposely attracting Sasuke's attention. It worked. Sasuke averted his eyes to the blinding radiance where a vending machine stood in all its glory. It was a sign, Sasuke swore. The vending machine was calling his name.

It took a while to finally be standing in front of the heavenly machine, but Sasuke managed to, holding the sides of the vendor in order to hold himself up. The only thing that separated him and the haven of food was a thin sheet of plexiglass.

. . . And a dollar fifty.

"Damn it!" cursed Sasuke, kicking the side of the machine in his sudden anger.

The goods behind the plexiglass rattled precariously for a moment, taunting Sasuke, before settling back in their places. Sasuke leaned in and rested his forehead against the screen in a defeated manner, sighing.

The granola bar he wanted practically laughed at him. Sasuke thought the vending machine was like a brothel. He was forced to pay in order to get pleasure. The granola bar was a cheap prostitute. For a dollar and fifty cents, it couldn't satisfy him, but it could give him a short moment's worth of pleasure.

A shadow was suddenly intermingling with his own and a tanned arm reached for the buttons at the side of the vending machine, a dollar and fifty cents worth of quarters in the hand. _Plop, chink, click_, the coins went into their respective slot on the vending machine.

"Knock yourself out."

Sasuke turned around to stare into the familiar sapphire orbs of Uzumaki Naruto.

The blond stood behind Sasuke, a small smile on his whisker-marked face that crinkled the corners of his sun-kissed mouth. Sasuke raised his eyebrow at the sudden presence of the blond and briefly wondered if he had been in the cafeteria all day.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

Naruto shrugged. "I should be asking you that. Just grab a snack and head back to my table to talk before you collapse. You can barely hold yourself up."

"It's your money."

"It's your grave."

"It's _your_ money," repeated Sasuke.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Fine, Mr. Stubborn. It's just a dollar fifty. Pay me back later. I've already put the money in, and I don't plan on eating anything, so just pick something and let's sit."

Satisfied, Sasuke brought a steadied hand to push the three buttons to order his whorish granola bar. The treat wiggled in its metal clutches, desperately struggling to stay suspended in the air than in Sasuke's mouth, but it lost the battle and fell with a dull and defeated _thud._

Naruto waited for Sasuke to grab his prize before he began to walk back to his table, slowing his pace so the Uchiha wouldn't strain himself. The table was a small one behind a central column of the cafeteria. It was covered in a litter of wrappers and bottles of juice. Naruto's schoolbag leaned against the legs of his chair with a disarray of papers and books sticking from its opened compartment.

"Just how long have you been in here?" Sasuke asked as he took a seat at the table.

"Since Granny told me to leave."

"I think she wanted you to leave the whole hospital, Uzumaki."

Naruto grinned lightly. "I know," he said. "She doesn't know I'm here. She's taking the late shift at the hospital today, and I don't have to go home for another hour."

Sasuke bit into his granola bar and chewed slowly before replying. A thoughtful expression played with his features. "Why didn't you go home?"

"I didn't want to."

"Well, why didn't you want to?"

Sasuke didn't miss the passing falter in Naruto's smile.

"I just didn't feel like going home."

"Liar."

Naruto frowned. "Stop questioning me and eat your granola bar. What are _you_ doing here so late at night?"

"Don't change the subject."

Sasuke's gaze did not waver. His steady sable eyes pierced into Naruto's own. The blond, however, looked away and began to shift uncomfortably in his seat. His fingers absentmindedly began to play with a stray candy bar wrapper, crinkling and crackling the plastic as if the sound comforted him.

Sasuke suddenly scowled as realization dawned onto him.

"You're afraid of being followed again."

"Not true!" shot Naruto. He bit his lip immediately after, realizing he'd replied before Sasuke could finish speaking.

"Admit it, Uzumaki! You've got reporters following your every move because of me and you don't want to be ambushed by them again!"

"You always told me to stay out of your business, Sasuke, so stay out of mine!" replied Naruto with bitterness lacing his voice.

Sasuke was ready to bite back with twice the aggression, but a recurrent wave of nausea suddenly washed over him. He swayed, his eyes going out of focus, before he felt the bile begin to rise in his throat. Instinct took over and he found himself jerking up from his seat to search for the nearest garbage can, but in an attempt to rush over the tiled floors, his knees ended up buckling beneath the unexpected pressure. Sasuke went flying forwards in a pseudo-Superman pose to land violently on the floor, all nausea eliminated at the rapidly oncoming pain.

"Damn it, Sasuke, you shouldn't have left your room!" was the first sentence out of Naruto's mouth as he ran to the Uchiha in panic.

Sasuke curled into a tight ball, his hands wrapping around his thin torso in an attempt to stop the searing pain. A series of violent coughs left his mouth.

And suddenly, Naruto's heart skipped a beat.

Sasuke was coughing up blood. The Uchiha had turned onto his side, his chills wracking his frail body, his eyes clenched tightly, and his lips covered in crimson liquid. Panicking, Naruto's hands began to shake.

"I'm going to go get help!" he practically screamed at the Uchiha before he sprinted from the room at record-breaking speeds.

The hallways were empty. Naruto raced through them, trying his best to suppress his urge to scream for a doctor lest he disturb an operation. His grandmother's office – the only one he could recognize in his panicked state – was coming closer and closer into view and he prayed that she was in there.

He burst through the door and the second he spotted Tsunade at her desk, a flurry of words tried to tumble from his lips.

"Granny! You've got to –"

"Naruto? What are you doing here?"

"Sasuke's in trouble and he's on the floor in the cafeteria coughing up blood and he fell after –"

Tsunade grabbed a surgical mask from her desk and gripped Naruto's wrist to pull him from the room without another word. Her heels made a rapid succession of _clickclickclickclick_ that pierced the silence of the hallways.

"I'm going to ask for an explanation later," she said quickly. "I want you to go and wash your hands immediately with soap, do you hear me? Thoroughly. And wash your mouth out. I don't want you catching influenza."

Naruto did not waste any time in protest. He had been in extremely close contact with the Uchiha. The second a bathroom door came into view, Naruto dashed for it and disappeared.

Tsunade was left to run a little ways to the cafeteria. The closer she got to the swinging doors, the more distinct the sound of coughing became. She sprinted the last few meters and burst through the doors.

Sasuke lay limply on the floor, trying desperately to regain his breath. Coughs and dry retches forced his body to convulse violently. Tsunade knelt down beside him and took his head into her hands.

"Stay with me, Sasuke," she urged, lightly slapping his cheeks. His eyes were closing. She didn't want to make any sudden movements. "I'm going to lift you up now, okay?"

Sasuke closed his eyes briefly.

"It feels like I'm dying," he managed to say weakly. "It really feels like I'm dying."

Tsunade lifted him deftly into her arms. "You're not dying," she said. "You're just seriously ill."

Sasuke would beg to differ.

He didn't think he had ever had such a mix of powerful pains in his body. The numbness that spread through his body with the influenza weakened him to the point that he barely felt Tsunade lift him up; there was only a rushing blend of colors before he realized he was a few feet from the floor.

Tsunade was suddenly running again; Sasuke could tell by the blurring scenery and the nauseating bouncing. His back screamed fiercely in protest.

"Stop . . ." he breathed out.

But he wasn't in Tsunade's arms anymore, he realized. He was on a bed.

When had he . . .?

Tsunade was in front of him in a darkening blur of green and blond. "I'm going to give you two injections," she said.

Sasuke waited to feel a needle pierce his skin. _Tick tock, tick tock, tick tock_, he thought through the haze his mind occupied, but not once did he feel anything. He reopened his eyes in questioning.

Three more doctors were suddenly there. He hadn't heard them come in. What was happening to his senses?

"Risk of pneumonia . . ."

"Vaccine . . ."

As Sasuke's mind pushed further into oblivion, he couldn't help but think, _Is this what Mom felt like?_

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

The light of the early morning did not hesitate to pour through the windows the second the sun rose above the horizon. It drowned the room in its presence and only intensified with each passing second. Four figures were graced with its company.

"Pneumonia is extremely fatal, Itachi."

"But it won't develop yet."

"He's extremely weak."

"But it _won't_ _develop yet_."

Sasuke had been on the verge of falling ill with a serious case of pneumonia.

Tsunade had not left the hospital since tending to Sasuke late in the night. At five in the morning, she called Itachi to alert him of his brother's situation, as well as Kakashi. Naruto had been sent home, but he returned early in the morning, dressed and ready for school.

"Look," continued Tsunade, "I know Sasuke is amazing at getting himself healed in a short amount of time. We need to have his immune system improved in the next two days if he has any chances to prevent pneumonia. He's already started to cough up blood."

"And how do you suggest we do this?" asked Itachi.

"No sugar whatsoever, lots of water, fruit, and sleep, and plenty of sunlight. If we focus on these things in the next two days, his immune system should improve enough to decrease some of his symptoms."

Itachi turned to look at where Sasuke was sleeping restlessly on his bed by the window. The sunlight aspect was fulfilled, and an IV drip provided several important nutrients, but Sasuke's shivering had increased and his throat had reddened to a soft scarlet color.

"Where's Kakashi?" asked Naruto.

"You'll see him in school. He'll come to the hospital late into the afternoon. Speaking of school . . ." Tsunade checked the clock on the wall. "You should get going."

Naruto inwardly frowned. He didn't want to go.

"If something happens, can you call Kakashi? So he can tell me?"

Tsunade smiled softly and nodded her head, giving Naruto a slight push on his back to leave the room. Naruto sighed. In a few minutes, he would enter Hell.

Hell was a two-floored building with a basement and a body of students and teachers. It disguised itself with the name _Konoha High, _but Naruto knew otherwise. He arrived at the doors of Hell with only four minutes to get to class and so he hastily sprinted through the entrance –

Hands grabbed him.

A crowd gathered in the time it took him to blink.

"Sasuke's _poor?!"_

Naruto's head whirled around for the sign of the student that screamed the question, but the swarm of students immediately broke out in a deafening drone of chatter.

"What?" he managed to counter at no one in particular.

"He's broke!" came one voice.

"The Uchiha Empire is gone!" came another.

"He's poor!"

"Poor!"

"How?"

"Come on, Naruto!"

"You know, right?"

Naruto jumped at the sudden grip on his wrist, but he recognized the toned hand that appeared through the crowd and allowed himself to be pulled away. He soon came face-to-face with an infuriated Kiba.

"Back the fuck off, assholes!" Kiba's deafening roar pierced through the chatter and the crowd's volume plummeted. Kiba roughly shoved a few people away. "Does he look like Uchiha Sasuke? Huh?! Fuck, no! So leave him the hell alone or I swear I'll smack each of you so hard, you'll have to walk backwards to see straight!"

Silence swept over the crowd immediately. Kiba grabbed Naruto by the shoulders and led him from the room to their first period class: Chemistry.

"Thanks," Naruto whispered lamely as he sat in a seat at the back. Sakura, Hinata, and Shikamaru were present as well.

Kiba clenched his fists. "That Uchiha kid is causing too much trouble for you, Naruto," he said. "It's insane. And why the hell did he keep such a huge secret?"

"How did everyone find out?"

Naruto was surprised. Itachi and Sasuke had been doing so well to prevent anyone from knowing, but now the entire secret had been exploited. Everyone knew the Uchiha Empire was no more.

Sakura pulled a newspaper from her backpack and handed it to Naruto.

"Reporters apparently did a lot of research when they didn't get answers," she said. "They found out where he lives now."

"Did they find out about his parents?"

". . . What about his parents?"

Naruto silenced. No one knew . . . and he intended to keep it that way. "Nothing," he quickly said.

"I'm really getting sick of this Uchiha problem, Naruto."

"Kiba!" scolded Sakura quietly. "Things are really serious right now!"

Kiba scowled. "Excuse me for wanting my best friend back!" he snapped. "Everyone's always so depressed or angry nowadays! I barely get to hang out and have fun with Naruto anymore!"

"That's not –"

"Not true?" Kiba finished for Naruto. "Kakashi had the two of you on that stupid handcuff therapy. And when he took the handcuffs off, you still went to his house for days anyway. You even got beat up be_cause_ of him! And the second you got out of the hospital after that, who did you go to see? Him!"

"Kiba –"

"Name me one time, Naruto. One time that you and I spent together like we did before the Uchiha came."

Naruto frowned at the fact that he had to think hard to come up with an answer. Kiba sighed and sat down, defeated.

"Forget it," he whispered.

"Kiba, I –"

"I said forget it, Naruto!"

Kiba stood abruptly and turned to leave the classroom just as the school bell rang to signal the beginning of class. Shikamaru sighed and whispered something about the situation becoming troublesome. When Asuma appeared at the doorway to close the door, Kiba sidled right past him without a word.

"Oi, Inuzuka, where do you think you're going?" called Asuma.

"Bathroom," grumbled Kiba.

He didn't come back.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Something on your mind?"

Silence.

"Hey."

Silence.

"Naruto."

Naruto jerked his head up suddenly, staring at Sasuke. "Sorry?" he asked. "Did you say something?"

Sasuke frowned. Naruto was taking his place in the insanity department.

The Uchiha had awoken early in the afternoon to numbing pain and a growling stomach. Tsunade and Itachi had spent a few hours helping in his recuperation before they left briefly to tend to respective tasks. They made sure Sasuke took in a large assortment of food and water before they departed.

Naruto had just entered Sasuke's room with a simple greeting and had said nothing since.

"I'm asking you if there's something on your mind," Sasuke repeated faintly. He stared at the blond through sore eyes.

"No. Just thinking."

"Liar."

"Shut up."

"You were questioned again today, weren't you?"

Sasuke's hands unconsciously clenched.

"Shut up and eat your soup."

"You've started acting differently ever since this tournament thing."

Naruto turned away from the pale Uchiha and averted his gaze to the window. He hated how Sasuke could figure everything out. He sighed deeply.

"I'm just having some troubles with some friends, okay? Drop it."

Sasuke didn't drop it.

"Because of me, right?" he said. His voice steadied and dropped to a slight whisper. "Your friends hate you because of me."

"It's not like that."

"You've been neglecting them because of me."

Naruto's head whirled around to stare at Sasuke with wide eyes. "How did you figure that out?" he asked.

"It's logic, Naruto." Sasuke forced himself into a sitting position. "The more time you spend with me, the less time you spend with them."

"But you're –"

"Not a pity case."

Naruto pressed his lips tightly together. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying I'm not a person worth risking things over." The Uchiha leaned forwards. "I'm not worth anything right now."

"Sasuke –"

"Your other friends want you back. I can do without you."

"You're being –"

"I don't need you."

"What –?"

"There's the door."

Sasuke's slender, wired hand motioned lazily to the entrance of his room. His eyes were set in firm fortitude.

Naruto didn't know whether to feel surprised or angry. His eyebrows lifted in favor of the former, but they soon drew together in irritation.

"Fine, Uchiha," he spat. "I've been trying to stay with you because I know what it's like to be cooped up with no one around. But if you don't want me, then I'm gone."

"Then go."

Naruto stood up, his chair screeching noisily against the hospital tiles, and moved to the door.

"Have fun being an asshole."

_Schwip._

The door closed.

Sasuke watched the last bit of blond hair disappear from view. Something in his chest jumped; his heart, he thought at the quickened pace the heart monitor traced. It hurt.

_Bye-bye, friend._

Sasuke willed his conscience away and collapsed back into his pillows, his blank obsidian eyes unwavering as they stared at the ceiling.

_Bye-bye._

"Shut up," he told the white, white walls. "I did the right thing."

He purposely pushed Naruto away to force him back to his friends. With Naruto angry at him, there would be no way the blond would ever want to return to the hospital room that taunted him so. With Naruto angry at him, their ties would be severed, and no one would have to annoy the blond at the expense of the brunette. Naruto would get to spend more time with his friends, would live his normal life, and Sasuke would never have to screw up the life of another again.

He was doing the right thing.

Right?

So why did his chest hurt so badly?

_Bye-bye._

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Itachi, Sasuke's missing."

It wasn't the first thing Itachi wanted to hear upon reentering the hospital with Kakashi accompanying him. The two took off after Shizune, their footsteps loud and eerie in the silent halls.

"How long ago?" asked Kakashi, his demeanor calm.

He peered into the Sasuke's room. The bed sheets were neatly folded to one corner, with no figure beneath them. An IV needle was hanging precariously on the side of the IV stand, and the heart monitor had been unplugged.

"A little under an hour ago," replied Shizune. "He and Naruto were left in the room, but Naruto left shortly without Sasuke."

"And Lady Tsunade?"

"She was going to look for him, but a patient needed her attention, so she sent me instead. I can't find Sasuke anywhere!"

Kakashi exchanged a knowing glance with Itachi. The Uchiha nodded.

"We know where he is," he said. "We'll have him back in bed in a few minutes."

There was only one place Sasuke would go, Kakashi and Itachi thought: a single place that he was familiar with and was always occupying back in the days of his first therapies. It was a room in the basement of the hospital, used rarely by an exclusive category of patients that Sasuke fell beneath.

Itachi quietly pushed the swinging doors to peer through the crack they made. The whirr of a mechanic wheel reverberated in the room, droning noisily in the stillness, with harsh panting mingling to create an erratic rhythm.

The room was meticulously organized. A variety of exercise machines were lined in rows on either side of the area, separated by a wide strip of wooden floor. The majority of the room was dimly lit; of twenty lights, only two were lit, shining the spotlight on a sole exercise bicycle in the far corner.

Sasuke's figure was visible on the bicycle. His legs were moving at inhuman speed, creating a blur of white and silver. The strain on his body was made obvious with the clear violent shakes that wracked his frame, liters of sweat pouring down his face.

"Sasuke?"

The called Uchiha did not look up. His legs continued to move, ceaseless.

"You can't stop, can you?"

Silence.

Sasuke gave a minor grunt after a few moments, showing that he was listening to Itachi's voice. Itachi stepped further into the room with Kakashi right behind him. Each rivulet of sweat gleamed with the fluorescent lighting overhead.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

"I stopped feeling my lower body," was the swift, nasally reply.

"Sasuke."

Sasuke's head perked at the sudden sound of Kakashi's voice. He turned in the general direction of the man, unable to fully pinpoint him through his dizziness. A snarl stirred on his face.

"If you force your rehabilitation, you could do some permanent damage," the silver-haired man continued.

Sasuke did not grace him with an answer.

Itachi stepped forward once more. "Come on, Sasuke," he spoke levelly. "You need to get back to your room. You shouldn't be working like this with your influenza."

"Hasn't stopped me."

Sasuke's legs continued to move at a continuous pace as he uttered the clipped sentence. He gave a feeble cough before lowering his head to stare at the ground once more with his teeth gritted against both the pain and the urge to break out into coughs.

"You said you would listen to me, Sasuke."

"Shit happens."

"Like what?"

Silence.

Kakashi was fed up. He moved past Itachi and put one hand on the edge of one of the bicycle's handlebars. The other hand went to Sasuke's thigh and pushed down powerfully. Sasuke gave a yelp of pain and surprise as his leg was forced to stop.

In an instant, the Uchiha collapsed sideways. Itachi caught him just before he could slide off of the seat of the bicycle.

"You won't be able to move your legs for a while," said Kakashi. "That's what you get for forcing rehabilitation."

"Damn it, Kakashi, I was doing fine!"

"Did something happen?" Kakashi demanded as he watched Itachi lift the limp younger Uchiha into his arms. "Did someone do something to you?"

"No."

Kakashi pursed his lips beneath his mask. He had a hard time believing him.

And then something clicked.

"Where's Naruto?"

Shizune had said that Sasuke had disappeared after Naruto had left. It was unusual for the blond to leave so early. Something must have happened. But Sasuke was teetering between consciousness and unconsciousness. His eyes would not focus themselves.

"Sasuke, what happened between you and Naruto?"

_Bye-bye._

"He's unconscious," announced Itachi.

Kakashi sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his thumb and index finger.

"Do me a favor?" he asked. "Just bring Sasuke back to his room and get Lady Tsunade on him. I'm going to go find Naruto and talk to him. I'll be back when he's conscious for his next therapy lesson."

Itachi shifted Sasuke in his arms, inwardly grimacing at his drastic lack of weight and temperate body.

"Anything specific in mind?" he asked before he left.

"A talk," said Kakashi. "A long one."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

_Ring . . . ring . . . ring . . ._

Sigh.

_Ring . . . ring . . . ring . . ._

Huff.

_Ring . . . ri–_

_"Hello?"_

Naruto bolted into an upright position from having been lying on his bed, the phone in his hands. "Kiba!" he exclaimed. "Listen –"

_"Oh. You."_

Naruto frowned.

"Can we just talk?"

_"You're not too busy with Uchiha, are you?"_

Naruto could practically see the sarcasm and venom dripping from the phone. His frown could only deepen and his hand clenched slightly around the cold plastic of the phone.

"I'm just here to talk to you, Kiba."

_"So you _are_ still busy with him."_

A frustrated sigh escaped the blonde's lips as he closed his sapphire eyes and leaned his forehead on his hand. "I'm not going back there anymore," he whispered. "He doesn't want me."

_"I told you from the start, Naruto," _came Kiba's tired, chiding tone. _"That Uchiha's nothing but trouble."_

". . . I'm sorry."

A long moment of silence ensued. Naruto could hear Kiba sigh on the other end of the phone. He imagined the dog-lover on the floor, eagle-spread, his slanted eyes staring at the ceiling to see its paint chipping away.

_"So . . . what happened?"_

That was it. The minor tear in the friendship was mended. The tension was over. It was back to the long talks of anything and nothing, back to the comfortable silences. Naruto lay on his bed once more to relish in the stillness before answering.

"Nothing," he said. "He just told me he didn't need me and showed me the door."

_"Isn't he supposed to have a super-high fever or something like that?"_

"Influenza." Kiba whistled at the diagnosis. "But that doesn't stop him from being a jerk." Naruto leaned forwards. "Listen," he finally repeated. "I'm not doing anything. Do you –"

_"Video games?"_

Naruto grinned.

"Monkey Crushers Two?"

_"Dibs on Billy-Bob!"_

Naruto was promptly met with the dial tone. It took him a while to realize Kiba had hung up on him after his excited exclamation. Content and beaming, the radiant blond rolled off of his bed to land painfully onto his carpeted floor before hastily dashing from his room in favor of preparing the video game console.

Someone was calling his name, however. He looked over the decorated railings of the hallway to see Kimiko standing at the foot of the spiraling staircase on the first floor.

"Kakashi is here," she called to him. "He's in the living room."

"But Granny isn't here," Naruto called back. "Tell him he's wasting his time if he's going to wait for her."

"Here's here to see _you_."

Naruto raised both his eyebrows. "Me?" he asked rhetorically. _What could he want – . . . oh, wait . . ._

A grimace replaced his expression of surprise. He nodded his head, allowing Kimiko to return to her duties, and walked as slowly as he possibly could down the stairs. Step, step . . . Oh look! The railings had little flowers engraved in them! . . . Step, step . . .

"Naruto."

Naruto lifted his head to find Kakashi suddenly standing directly in front of him. Startled, he fell backwards, colliding painfully with the sharp edges of the marble steps. Kakashi extended a hand in aid.

"Hi," Naruto grumbled, lifting himself.

Kakashi shrugged and lazily dropped the arm he had extended as if nothing had happened.

"Everyone seems to hate me nowadays," he commented casually. His hands went to his pockets.

"It's because you show up at the worst of times."

Kakashi turned his head to the living room he had just walked from. He managed to extend yet another hand. The sleeve of his dark shirt rose to reveal the slender, pale arm beneath.

"Shall we sit?"

Naruto's mind flashed back to Sasuke in the hospital room, weak and frail against the white pillows that almost matched his complexion. He saw Sasuke's slender, pale arm extend.

_"There's the door."_

"Naruto."

Kakashi gently placed a hand on the blonde's shoulder to bring him back to reality. Naruto jumped slightly, startled at the sudden touch. Kakashi's infamous frown hid beneath his mask.

"Come on," he said as he guided Naruto to one of the couches.

"I don't need to be led all over the place," said Naruto. "I'm not Sasuke."

Kakashi suddenly stopped.

"Pardon?"

Naruto looked up at him with a serious expression that was foreign upon his face, his mouth carefully enunciating each word.

"I said I'm not Sasuke."

Kakashi's single eye scanned every detail of Naruto's face, searching for any answer. "Now why would you say that?" he asked rather calmly. He sat down, hoping Naruto would follow.

Naruto did, eventually, take a seat as far away from the older man as he could.

"You're here to ask me about him, aren't you?"

"Well, he did go missing after you left, and Itachi and I found him forcing his rehabilitation in the gym."

"So?"

"He stopped listening to me. I'm assuming it has something to do with your visit."

Naruto's personality did not allow him to remain silent. He moved to sit on the edge of his seat, one hand gripping the arm of the chair and the other motioning wildly with his speech.

"It's his fault!" he exclaimed. "He was the one that told me to get out of the room! He told me he didn't need me even though I was the one that was watching over him on my own will!"

"Something must have led to that," replied Kakashi. One of his hands went up to rub his masked chin. "Something started the conversation, didn't it?"

"Kiba got angry at me – but not anymore! – and I told Sasuke that I was having trouble with friends. He said it was his fault that I was neglecting them; he said he wasn't worth it, or something like that, and then he asked me to get out."

Kakashi wanted to don a khaki hat and trench coat, a long tobacco pipe, and his own mystery theme music. He felt like he was a detective, compiling several bits of evidence to figure out a single case.

"You do realize, Naruto, that Sasuke wouldn't do anything without having a reason?"

_Ding dong, ding dong!_

Naruto stood up. "Kiba's here," he said. "Sasuke doesn't have a reason for everything. He's sick right now. He can barely stand, let alone think, Kakashi."

Kakashi stood up and followed him to the door. Before Naruto had the chance to touch the doorknob, Kakashi shifted directly in front of him, his single eye boring into Naruto's.

"Does Sasuke really want to lose you right now?" he asked in a hissed whisper. "Or did he willingly force you away to help you? So you could go back to your friends?"

Naruto silenced.

Kakashi left and Kiba entered.

Yet Naruto was silent.

Kiba spoke and jumped and laughed.

Yet Naruto was silent.

"Naruto?" asked Kiba after realizing the blond wasn't responding to anything. "Are you alright?" He waved his hand in front of the blonde's unwavering eyes.

"You're wrong," he suddenly whispered. Naruto's eyes finally averted to Kiba's. "You're wrong," he repeated. "We've been wrong."

"Wrong about what?"

A sigh escaped the blonde's lips. He couldn't do anything at the moment, not with Kakashi investigating and with the Uchiha unconscious.

"Nothing," he said at last. "Let's go play some video games."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kakashi waited until Sasuke woke up before putting his plan into action. He sat at the Uchiha's side, wide awake, his eyes focusing on Sasuke's to sense any sign of consciousness. It had been an hour.

"At least move, Kakashi."

Itachi entered with a cup of tea in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. He handed the coffee to Kakashi before sitting down.

"I want him to wake up."

"What do you plan to do with him when he has?"

Kakashi's mind whirled with strategies he planned for the Uchiha, trying to pick the best one for the situation. He did not answer Itachi for a long time until his scalding hand brought him back to reality when the cup his hand was wrapped around grew too warm.

"I'm going to take him to a room in the asylum ward," he said softly. "Knowing him, he'll try to force his rehabilitation again, so I'd might as well make him move."

Itachi eyed him thoughtfully over the brim of his tea cup. "Is it possible for me to join in with the therapy session?"

He was met with a simple shrug and an okay.

Sasuke did not stir for another several minutes. He opened one eye and then the other, turning his head right, then left.

"Kakashi?" he slurred.

His eyes were unfocused as they tried to make out the older man before averting to Itachi. Sasuke wiggled slightly on the bed and winced. His legs screamed dangerously in protest.

"Therapy lesson number two:" said Kakashi, "a rehabilitation movement to a separate ward."

"Why?"

Sasuke's remark was close to a whine. He arched his back and groaned deeply when his legs seared in pain.

"You want to get rehabilitation done with, don't you? And you said you'd listen to me, didn't you? So come on."

Kakashi placed one hand on Sasuke's shoulder to help him sit into an upright position. The Uchiha was weakly complying. His body shook from the strain he placed on it.

"I don't think he should be allowed, Kakashi."

Itachi tried to move between the older man and Sasuke, but Kakashi pushed him away gently, grabbing hold of Sasuke's frail arms to pull him forwards.

"His influenza needs to get better first," Itachi persisted.

"Influenza won't hinder anything in this rehabilitation. And a little exercise won't do him harm, either."

"I think we should get Lady Tsunade –"

"I've never seen you so worried, Itachi."

Kakashi finally turned around to stare steadily at Itachi right in the eyes, a thin silver eyebrow raised in questioning. Sasuke tried to swing his legs over his bed from behind him.

Itachi gave a defeated sigh and ran a hand through his hair. "He's finally trying to get better," he said in a slight whisper. "I just can't risk him getting any worse."

"You can trust me."

Itachi knew he could. He knew he could trust the man with his life, his mother, and especially his brother. For that reason, he stepped aside to watch Kakashi brace his brother as Sasuke's legs reached the floor and wobbled. Itachi took over, holding his brother by the waist as they walked together through the halls.

The asylum ward was on the third floor of the hospital. It was a single hallway from the door of the elevator, extending to what seemed like eternity. Doors lined the sides. It was eerily silent and Sasuke did not recall ever once coming to the ward on his own free will.

He was led to a room all the way at the end of the hallway (surprisingly, he found that there was, in fact, an actual end). It was the final door. Kakashi unlocked it with the key given to him by Tsunade and held the door open for Itachi to practically drag Sasuke through.

Itachi's eyebrow rose immediately.

The room was roughly the size of a small shed. The walls were completely covered in a light blue, cushy material save for a small square mirror on the furthest wall. There was nothing else in the room. At all.

"What . . .?" Sasuke trailed off, observing the room.

"You're going to be in here for an hour," explained Kakashi. "It's impossible to break that mirror. It's impossible to even hurt yourself in this room. The walls are soundproof."

Sasuke was released from Itachi's grasp and slid to the cushioned floor, bouncing slightly.

"What do you expect me to do in this room for an hour?" he asked as he lay on his back.

"No one can see you. You can only see yourself in that mirror." Kakashi crouched down on his haunches. "I want you to talk. I want you to scream. I want you to punch the walls, or cry, or do whatever. I want you to let everything out that's been on your shoulders for this year, do you understand? I _don't_ want you to just sit around."

Sasuke met Kakashi's eye.

"Why?"

Kakashi, in turn, took on the staring contest with confidence.

"You're angry, Sasuke – and don't tell me you're not! You won't be able to fully rehabilitate if you keep harboring that anger."

Sasuke turned to stare from Kakashi to Itachi, and then back to Kakashi. "And no one's listening?" he asked tentatively. "What's the mirror for?"

He knew mirrors in investigation rooms usually turned out to be a one-way window for anyone that was looking into the room.

"To confront yourself and only yourself."

When Sasuke did not seem intent on replying, Kakashi motioned for Itachi to leave the room. The door, cushioned from behind as well, was closed.

"Come on," Kakashi whispered, motioning to the door to the left of the room. "We're going to watch."

"So you lied to him."

It wasn't a question. Itachi knew the older man had lied. Kakashi gave him a pointed look.

"Did you really think he'd open up if I told him we'd be watching his every move?" he asked. "It's vital for his rehabilitation. And there's also a camera stationed in there so I can look over this session at home."

They entered a room that was the same size as Sasuke's. A table and three chairs were stationed in front of a window that peered into Sasuke's room where the Uchiha sat silently in the middle.

"Make yourself comfortable," commented Kakashi. "This is going to be a long hour."

Sasuke, in the meantime, stared around the room for a few minutes, too tired to stand on his legs. He stared intently at the mirror in an attempt to decide whether or not Kakashi had been telling the truth.

"What the hell . . ." he whispered. "What do they expect me to do?"

He found himself compelled to speak in the small room. The silence felt uneasy without his own voice to pierce it.

"I don't have anger issues," he finally told himself as he leaned against the wall across the mirror. "Kakashi has no idea what he's talking about."

His hands tried to fist the cushy material of the floor, but they failed to get a firm grasp. It frustrated him slightly in a way he couldn't understand. Fed up, he crawled to where the mirror was stationed and hoisted himself up to face it. His reflection was looking back at him, gaunt and pale.

"I _know_ I don't look healthy," he told himself through the mirror. He brought his hands up to touch his face and reeled slightly at the boniness **[1] **of his fingers.

"Is this really what they look like? . . . But I've started eating, haven't I? I already told myself I wouldn't be this thin."

Two coughs escaped his lips to remind him of his illness. Sasuke stared back at the mirror to scrutinize himself.

"You are Uchiha Sasuke," he said. "You will do whatever you want to do."

_"Pathetic!"_

Sasuke clenched his eyes shut.

"Regardless of what Dad says," he ground out.

He leaned forwards, wrapping his hands around his stomach. The memories he had tried to desperately to suppress were surfacing. Was this the power of the small room? Had Kakashi known this? Or was it all in his sub consciousness?

_"Die, die! I want to _die_!"_

"Shut up!" Sasuke growled to no one. "Shut _up!"_

One of his hands was brought down to punch the floor in rage and frustration. He relished in the feeling it brought him. He punched the floor again. It was like an addiction to try and inflict pain on anything.

At last, he brought himself up to full height and stood on wobbling knees, using the walls to brace himself.

"What's going on with me?" he whispered. "Why am I the fault for everything?"

He leaned completely against the wall, burying his head in his hands.

"I even sent my mother to the hospital because I didn't take care of her. I'm killing my own brother with work. I screwed up."

His expression changed and he pounded a fist against the wall.

"Because I was worthless."

It was a mantra he seemed to always repeat.

"Because I was worthless, Dad decided to commit suicide. So we lost our money. So we lost everything. Damn it!"

In a sudden strike of rage, Sasuke whirled around to slam his back into the wall, bringing a hand to his forehead.

"But why did everything happen to _me?!"_ he screamed to the ceiling. "What is _wrong_ with the world?! Why did they have to figure out I had a prosthetic leg?! Why did I lose the tournament?!"

He fell to his knees out of exhaustion and frustration.

"I lost the tournament," he said in a softer voice. "The tournament I'd been training for since the beginning of time. I was supposed to make Itachi happy. He told me he was happy, but that's not enough.

"Everything is always about the money, isn't it?"

He lay on his back to stare at the ceiling as a bitter laugh escaped his lips.

"It's always about the money. Money is the downfall of humanity."

Sasuke lay in silence for a while, staring at the white ceiling. It just dawned onto him that he was panting harshly and that a thin layer of sweat covered his face and arms. Naruto's face swam into his vision as the silence ensued.

Sasuke rolled over onto his knees and gripped his heart.

"I lost the greatest friend I had because of my screw ups," he said. "I deserve it. I deserve every ounce of pain. He doesn't deserve to have a crap friend like me that ruins his life just by existing.

". . . But it hurts so badly."

He collapsed once more, unmoving.

"I tried everything," he said to the floor. "I tried committing suicide."

His eyes averted to the faint scabs on his arms, reminding him of his own stupidity. He curled up slightly and willed the images away.

"I tried getting drunk."

Another bitter laugh escaped his lips at the day.

"Having sex with Tayuya is the last thing I would have done if I was sane."

But his grimace turned into a complete frown.

"And now I'm stuck in a hospital with a possible deadly case of influenza."

_Tick . . . tock, tick . . . tock, tick, tock, tick tock, ticktockticktockticktock!_

It was so sudden, it took Kakashi and Itachi a few seconds to follow what was going on behind the window.

Sasuke jumped to his feet, adrenaline fueling his veins like a powerful addiction to heroin. He slammed his fists against one wall, his teeth grinding against each other.

"Why?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. "What am I doing wrong? I'm just trying to make everyone _happy!"_

He jerked his knee into the wall.

"I sacrifice my life to try and satisfy the world, but I don't get anything in return! I trained night and day for that tournament to win the money, but I end up here! And the media is on my back and ruining Naruto's life!

"Why?!"

He turned to slam into the next wall.

"What is there left to do?! I've tried everything and lost everything! I didn't do anything to deserve this life! I don't deserve this . . ."

He finally collapsed against the wall, sliding down into a crumpled heap at the foot of it with one hand fisting his shirt and the other clenching his stomach. His face contorted and he leaned forwards.

"I miss Mom," he whispered. "I want her back so badly."

The tears were falling now. One year of tears was coming on in a ceaseless, silent waterfall over his cheeks. He pounded the floor.

"I don't deserve to have her back," he said brokenly, pitifully. "I was the one that sent her there in the first place."

His voice rose in volume and he turned on his knees to lean against the wall once more, giving it a lame, weak punch.

"I don't deserve anything!" he screamed. "Kakashi's wasting his time with me! Itachi needs to care about himself! I'm hurting all these people out of my own selfishness!

"Mom . . ." He returned to his pitiful whisper, gripping his heart. "Come back. Not for me. Just come back for Itachi."

Itachi stood up abruptly from his seat, toppling it over. He made a move to stride for the door. However, Kakashi's hand shot out to grab the Uchiha's arm.

"Going in will ruin the whole thing," the older man hissed.

"I don't care."

"Itachi, you –"

Itachi rapidly seized fistfuls of the front of Kakashi's shirt and slammed him painfully against the nearest wall. Kakashi's eye visibly widened in sudden shock. Never in his life would he have expected Itachi to do such a thing. Yet it seemed Sasuke held a strange, potent power over his brother.

"I need to speak to him," Itachi whispered ominously.

Kakashi calmly brought his hands to ease Itachi's grasp. He straightened his shirt. "I understand your concern, Itachi, but I know what I'm doing. This is vital if you want to help Sasuke. Please, just sit down and wait."

Sasuke's screaming was audible once more, but neither man turned to look through the window. Itachi's eyes did not move from Kakashi's face. Kakashi's single eye was calmed, as if daring the younger man.

"Trust me."

---------------------------------------------------

**[1] Boniness - **I didn't know this was a word until I tried. It is.

Yay! Angst! Please read the Author's Note if you didn't. I'm tired of getting anonymous reviews of oblivious people.


	17. Rescue

**Disclaimer:**If I owned Naruto . . . I wouldn't own Naruto, obviously.

**Author's Note:** Happy (rather butchered) Easter, ladies and gentlemen!

Not a lot to say right now. I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and felt like I succeeded in setting a basis for the plot to develop, so I really hope you enjoy this.

There's _a lot_ of humor in this to balance the angst.

Enjoy, please.

**Chapter 17  
**…**:::Rescue:::…  
****KAT-TUN**

**WARNING (?): Cursing from our dear Kiba.**

"I'm a failure."

Sasuke was on his hands and knees, watching the tears flow over his nose to drip to the cushioned floor beneath him. They were angry tears; tears of frustration. He clenched his fists.

"Always a failure. Forever a failure. No matter how hard I try, no matter how long. How can I possibly expect to live up to the Uchiha legend now?"

He picked himself up from his position and sat down, leaning with his back against one of the walls. His left hand hastily wiped against the remnants of tears from his cheeks and he winced having agitated the spot where the IV needle had been repeatedly inserted and taken out.

"I even failed at being normal," he continued, his voice weary. "I tried so hard – and it was working! But now everyone knows what happened, and they're going to treat me differently – damn it!"

He cut his own voice off to pound the back of his head into the cushions briefly.

"But what _is_ 'normal'? How can an Uchiha possibly be normal if we're born different from the start? Maybe I _am_ living up to the Uchiha legend."

His lips twitched into a sour smile.

"Uchiha legend . . ." he mocked softly. "I'm being consumed by a silly, silly title. Look at me."

Very slowly, very painfully, Sasuke gathered himself to his unsteady feet and walked to the mirror in the center of the wall. He placed both hands on either side of it to steady himself as his obsidian eyes stared without their common blank visage.

"What has Uchiha Sasuke become?"

He frowned.

"A burden. A pitiful, unstable burden, the one thing I tried so hard not to become. I was insane. _Was._"

He pushed himself from the wall and turned away from the mirror, standing in the center of the room with no specific designation for his line of sight.

"But I haven't been for a while. Why?"

His fingers delicately swept over the cushions of one wall. He felt the seams of each square of pillow, tracing them.

"I haven't tried to strangle someone in a while." He smirked at the thought. "I haven't been sedated for falling into a fit of trauma for a while now. Perhaps . . ."

His lips tugged once more, this time to widen his smirk. A gleam of his pearl teeth shone in the dim lighting for an instant.

"Perhaps I have succeeded at doing something after all."

His heart suddenly picked up its pace, beating fiercely for a brief instant. Sasuke fell to one knee at the sudden twinge of pain and a brief round of coughs escaped his lips. A wave of nausea quickly washed over him to leave him in a sea of vertigo.

"It's not about trauma anymore," he said through gritted teeth as he waited for the wave to pass. "I can get over the trauma – not fully, but so far, so good. It's not about school. It's not about people."

He tried to stop himself from collapsing as he waited for his heart to ease.

"It's about surviving now."

It was several minutes before the pain had subsided enough to allow him to lean back against the wall once more, completely and utterly exhausted. He could no longer breathe through his nose and so his breaths became shallower.

"But is it really possible?" he whispered. "With the way things are going, is it really possible to keep the apartment? To keep from ending up on the streets? Is it really possible . . ."

He gulped.

". . . For Mom to get out of her coma?"

His eyes darted to the corner of the room instinctively, trying to will away the thoughts. He was realizing the extent of his speech. Obsidian eyes blinked rapidly. Pale fists clasped the thin fabric of the hospital gown.

"What the hell am I saying?"

His voice was fiercer. Chiding. Biting.

"It's this room."

Barking.

"This stupid room."

Woof.

Sasuke stood up abruptly, his legs steadied and his breaths coming out in harsh pants from his lips. His frail arms pounded weakly against the wall as if determined to watch it collapse beneath his pressure.

"Mom is coming back."

_You're contradicting yourself._

"Shut up!"

_You know it._

"Shut _up!"_

_She's not._

"Shut. Up!"

Had he really succeeded at stopping his insanity?

"Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Why was it that a single room could bring back everything? How could a single room force the memories to resurface?

Sasuke struck the walls, his eyes squeezed tightly to shut out the white, white padding.

It felt good.

It felt like he was in control, like he had power. He beat the cushy material with all his might, his anger flowing through his hands and out of his knuckles.

He was beating away his insanity.

How dare the room force him to think in such a way? It squeezed words from his mouth that he had tried so desperately to hide behind his teeth. It was enchanted, Sasuke tried to conclude – enchanted by the demons that guarded Hell.

"I hate this room!"

His hands ached.

"I hate this room!"

His bruising fists screamed in protest.

"I _hate_ this room!"

The Uchiha ran for where he remembered the door to be. The faint outline in the cushions disappeared and reappeared from his rapidly blurring vision. His nails frantically clawed for the framework, trying desperately to escape.

"Let me out!"

Kakashi watched from the window. His hand tightened its grip on Itachi's tensing shoulder.

"Let me out!"

Sasuke's eyes were reddening, he could tell. He could feel the heat and sting of the air, but he didn't care. Not now. It was the room's fault.

Sasuke's thoughts were jumbled and senseless. He continued to claw, to pound, to scream.

"Kakashi! Itachi!"

Futile.

The breaking Uchiha slid lamely against the cushions, weak and defeated. A series of coughs erupted from his mouth and he choked on oncoming sobs, gasping for breath in an attempt to calm himself. He hung his head.

"Mom."

The room silenced as Sasuke sat, unmoving and limp, his shoulders shaking violently from a contortion of his fever and his attempt to bring an end to his watering eyes.

Yeah, it was the room, Sasuke thought. It had to be, because he wasn't going to be so vulnerable anymore.

A creak broke the silence. Sasuke's head did not look up at the sound of footsteps moving across the cushions. He felt powerful hands pick his limp figure from the ground, as if he was a child that had fallen.

"Come on, Sasuke."

The Uchiha tried to break free from his brother's grasp. He struggled halfheartedly, twisting as Itachi's hands tried to reach for his sides.

"We're leaving. Let me just help you up."

Itachi's voice was monotonous and soft, no longer engulfed in drastic rage or hastiness. Sasuke still resisted his touch, but not as vigorously. He was lifted from the floor and to his feet.

"Let him go."

Kakashi's voice rang in the silence, quiet and firm. The older man placed a hand on Itachi's shoulder like he had done so several times in the past hour, motioning for the man to release Sasuke. He was given a questioning glance in return.

"Let him walk. It's good for his rehabilitation."

"But Kakashi –"

"You know, Itachi, I'm having a hard time believing you really trust me."

Itachi let go.

It was because of that simple implication that Itachi complied despite how unwilling his conscience was. He gently eased his brother into a standing pose and tried to keep himself from eyeing Sasuke's unsteady stance.

"Sasuke, will you be alright?" asked Kakashi levelly. His therapist's eye carefully scrutinized any slight changes in Sasuke's expression.

The Uchiha's brows knitted together for a fleeting instant before his expression relaxed and he nodded his head.

"Yeah," he said. "I will be."

Kakashi turned to Itachi with a silent glance of satisfaction. He breathed an easy sigh.

"Let's head back, shall we?"

Sasuke gave no protest.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Man, you just let the baboon crush your barrel!"

Kiba flipped from his upside down position on the couch as his fingers rapidly pressed the buttons on his video game controller.

"Watch out for the gorilla!"

_Click, click!_

"Your monkey is getting beat up! Do something, man!"

The strangled cry of a dying animal resounded in the room suddenly, followed by an explosive _bang _before a short minor-toned jingle played. _Game over_ the television screen projected.

Kiba let his controller drop to the floor with a sigh.

"Are you alright? You haven't had that low of a score since forever."

He spoke to the blond whose fingers were still absentmindedly tapping the buttons on the game controller. Kiba gave a loud groan and slapped one hand over his face.

"_Please_ tell me you're not still thinking about the Uchiha!"

Naruto turned to him, his azure eyes filled with indecision. "Sorry," was all he said as he abandoned the controller and stood up.

"Naruto, you can't keep contradicting yourself, you know," said Kiba. "You just said you hated the guy!"

"I just feel bad for him," replied Naruto. He took a seat in an egg-shaped chair by Kiba's side. "I mean, why would he suddenly want me out when we were getting along so well?"

"Because he hates you? I don't know! The fact is: he did it. And now it's done with."

"But what if he did it for a reason?"

"Naruto, I'm going to go push you off the stairs right now. Why? Oh, because I felt like it. Does it look like there's a reason for everything in life?"

_There is in Sasuke's_, thought Naruto. He frowned.

"No," said Kiba, standing up and wagging a finger in Naruto's general direction. "No frowning. No thinking. No being depressed. We're here to have fun."

Naruto's frown didn't leave his sun-kissed face.

"Okay, fine. Should I go break my neck or something? Then will you start visiting me in the hospital? Will you start giving a damn?"

"Kiba, you know it's not like that," Naruto tried to reason. He watched the brunette walk around the spacious room, testing the floor as if to see where he would fall. "Now come on. Stop playing around."

"I'll jump from this chair and break my arm, okay? And you have to promise to visit me in the hospital."

"Kiba."

Kiba stood on the arm of a chair by the door of Naruto's room, bending his knees several times to prepare for his jump.

"Kiba."

"Okay, here I go."

"Kiba!"

Kiba jumped from the chair to head straight for the floor. Naruto stood up abruptly, his eyes wide in surprise and incredulity as he watched Kiba sail ungracefully through the air. The brunette landed roughly on the carpeted floor by the video game console. A scream of agony escaped his lips as he rocked back and forth, cradling his arm.

"Kiba! Holy shit, you idiot!"

Naruto ran to his friend's side and hit the floor with enough pressure to break his kneecaps. His hands hovered just above Kiba's howling figure, unsure of what to do.

"I can't believe you –!"

"Gotcha."

Kiba was sitting up now, grinning deviously to reveal his pointed canines. He flexed his arms cockily.

Naruto did not appreciate the joke. He punched the dog-lover brutally in the arm.

"You idiot, I could've had a heart attack," he chided good-naturedly.

"Ah, but you _didn't_."

"But I could've."

Kiba grinned and stood up, helping Naruto up as well. He teasingly poked Naruto in the stomach repeatedly.

"But you were worried about me," he chirped.

Naruto swatted his hands away. "Yeah, yeah, dinner's ready. Come on."

"You can't deny you love me!" Kiba continued to tease as the two boys headed for the door. "I'm already planning our wed–"

A sudden clatter cut off Kiba's words, followed by a thunderous _thud_, and Kiba was screaming again.

Naruto turned around, rolling his eyes. "I can't believe you think it'll work a second time," he said. "Quit fooling around and let's eat."

He stared at where Kiba was on the floor. The brunette was biting his bottom lip to the point of drawing blood; a tangle of wires from the game console swallowed his right foot. His hands were weaved in his hair, pulling at the strands in an attempt to not scream.

"Kiba?" asked Naruto warily. He edged closer to the brunette.

Kiba took in a sharp breath and opened one eye.

"N-Naruto," he managed to grind out, but could say no more. He instead pointed wildly to his foot before howling in pain, small droplets of tears escaping his eyelids from the agony.

"You've got to be kidding me," Naruto whispered incredulously as he moved to inspect Kiba's foot beneath the tangle of wires.

But the brunette's foot _was_ angled improperly.

"Oh man, oh man!" Naruto ran for the door, instinctively shouting over his shoulder, "Don't move!"

"Really?!" Kiba could not help but grind out dryly. He gripped his head tighter and tried to prevent his leg from twitching.

Naruto ran through the halls of his large house, screaming for someone's help. It felt like the hospital all over again. It seemed like he was the one that was always running for help at the slightest sign of trouble.

Why was he always the one running for help?

"Naruto, what's wrong?"

Kimiko came from the kitchen, drying her hands on her apron. Her eyebrows were drawn in concern as she stared at the distressed blond in front of her.

"Kiba's hurt!" exclaimed Naruto.

He thought that with all of the occurrences in his life, with all the times he asked for help, he would at least be calmer when explaining.

"He needs the hospital!"

Kimiko was off in an instant to alert a driver, telling Naruto to go back to Kiba and wait for her. The blond obediently left to return to his friend's side. Kiba's forehead touched the ground and his hands were attempting to fist the carpet beneath him. A hiss of pain or a sharp intake of breath was audible every few seconds.

"It'll be okay," Naruto tried to comfort. "Just wait a few minutes. How badly does it hurt?"

One of Kiba's tanned arms reached for Naruto's right nipple and twisted it tightly, getting a scream of agony in reply.

"_That's_ how much it hurts," the brunette groaned. He let out a bout of choked laughter. "My mom is going to kill me."

"It's _my_ fault the wires were there," Naruto was quick to reply.

Kiba shook his head.

"It's not that. It's because she really wanted me to be in the next tournament and now I can't."

Confused, Naruto cocked his head to the side. "What tournament?"

"The tournament Genma told us about. The national one. In a month. Damn, Naruto, did you listen to him? Ah! Ow!"

Naruto's eyes widened. A national tournament? In a month?

Could it be . . .?

Kouji, Naruto's driver, entered the room with a carrot in hand before the blond could ask Kiba for further information. He nodded towards Naruto and knelt down by the brunette.

"This foot, right?" he asked, indicating Kiba's right foot.

Kiba bit down harder on his lip and nodded. Kouji placed the thick carrot in front of Kiba's face.

"Bite down on this," he explained.

Kiba took it into his mouth without a second thought. His sharp teeth pierced the orange flesh of the vegetable with feral power as Kouji began to untangle the wires from his foot.

Naruto could clearly see the awkward angle of the ankle once all the wires had been removed. Pulling up the leg of Kiba's pants, Kouji revealed the scarlet swells and the light bruising along the ankle bone.

"It's dislocated. You fell on it in a way that your ankle wouldn't normally move. I think it's best for a doctor to pop it back in because you've torn some ligaments."

Kiba's eyes were rolling from the amount of pain endurance. "Just make it stop hurting," he said desperately. The carrot lay in three pieces beneath his mouth. "I can't take it!"

A simple dislocated ankle. Naruto could not stop his mind from averting back to Sasuke as he followed Kouji out the door, Kiba limply stationed in the older man's arms. If a simple dislocated ankle could bring such pain to a lean boy like Kiba, what could a few broken ribs, a lost limb, recurrent beatings and bruises, and numerous punches do to a frail boy like Sasuke?

Naruto suddenly felt ashamed.

Even with Kiba in pain, even with Kiba in need, his mind still wandered to the Uchiha. Perhaps, he thought, he _had_ been spending too much time with him. It was time to start caring equally for his other friends.

"Kiba?" he whispered as he was in the car, sitting by Kiba to brace him from any sudden movements. "I'm sorry."

"What for?"

"For not being there for you."

"I think we got over that already, Naruto."

"I know. I just wanted to remind you."

"Oh."

Silence.

"Naruto?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop being so damn corny. I dislocated my ankle. I'm not dying."

"I know."

Silence.

Naruto sighed and leaned against the car, his hands gently pressing down on Kiba's knee. "Does it still hurt?" he asked tentatively.

Kiba clenched his teeth in remembrance. "It feels like I'm going to pass out," he said. "But it's starting to get numb. I think all the swelling is killing any feeling. Just don't touch it."

The car was stopped right in front of the hospital and Kouji left the driver's seat to gingerly slide Kiba out of the back. He picked the boy up, being careful not to agitate his rapidly-swelling ankle. Kiba hissed in pain nonetheless.

"Would it be too much to ask you to knock me out?" he whispered, only half-jokingly.

Naruto laughed shortly, just to humor him.

Shizune looked surprised when the trio entered. She stood up from her front desk immediately and called for a doctor to assist Kiba to a room, Kouji and Naruto following closely behind. They were guided to one of the first few rooms where several beds were separated with curtains. One of six beds was occupied and so Kiba was placed on the next one. The doctor drew the curtain back for privacy.

"I can see the light, doc," said Kiba, rocking faintly on his sides. He tried to grin and failed.

"Doctor May," the doctor introduced herself. Her slender fingers pulled Kiba's pants to his knee. The brunette's ankle was completely swollen to the size of a softball. "How did his ankle dislocate?"

"He tripped over the wires of our Gamebox 380."

"Come on, Naruto. Think of something cooler than that. Listen, doc, I was getting ready to bungee jump while on a skateboard and – _FUCK! WHAT. THE. HELL?!"_

Dr. May had popped Kiba's ankle back in.

"It's better to do it when they're distracted," she explained with a slight smirk playing with her features.

"Oh my – damn it – what – fuck – I can't – oh man – ah!"

Kiba could not get a proper sentence out of his mouth. He bit down on his knuckles at the searing pain that surged through his ankle as he blinked away the tears of pain that sprung to his eyes.

"Painkiller. Someone get me a painkiller! Oh man, Naruto, the world is spinning."

"Is he going to be okay?" asked Naruto, watching Kiba's eyes go in and out of focus. His pupils were dilated.

"Adrenaline," explained Dr. May as she wrote something down on a clipboard that doctors always seemed to have. "I've still got to treat the torn ligaments. Is there a parent or guardian in the vicinity?"

"I'll call his mom."

"No, Naruto! Not my mom! I won't live to see seventeen!"

"There's a phone in the lobby. Please."

"Naruto, you'll never have a video game buddy again!"

Naruto chuckled lightly at Kiba's adrenaline-pushed antics and turned to his driver. "It'll be alright if you go home. I'm going to be here a while and probably go home with Granny."

"If you don't mind," Kouji replied. He smiled. "Send my regards to Kiba."

"Or what's left of him."

"Naruto!"

The blond slid the door closed once Kouji had left and began making his way back to Shizune's desk. She was speaking to Tsunade. At the appearance of Naruto, the two women broke their conversation and turned to him.

"Shizune told me about Kiba," said Tsunade. "What were you guys doing?"

"Long story."

Naruto excused himself and reached for the phone to dial an all-too-familiar number.

"And it ends with Kiba tripping over wires."

_"Yes?"_

Kiba's mother's voice suddenly rang sharply through the phone. Naruto winced. He was afraid of the explosion that would go off as soon as he told her the news.

"Mrs. Inuzuka? This is Naruto."

_"Oh! Naruto! Wait, what's wrong?"_

She knew immediately. Naruto called it her sixth sense; if Kiba was in trouble, she knew; if Kiba was hurt, she knew; if Kiba was being an idiot in public . . . she knew.

At the hesitation in Naruto's voice, Tsunade took the phone from his grasp and brought it to her ear and lips.

"Tsume? Hi, it's Tsunade. Kiba's in the hospital right now with a dislocated ankle –"

_"WHAT?!"_

Tsunade held the phone away from her ear and grimaced as the Inuzuka mother went into a short, angry rant. When she calmed, Tsunade continued her conversation shortly and hung up.

"She'll be right over," she said. "I'll check up on Kiba in a few minutes. I've got to head to the Uchiha's room first."

Naruto drew in a sharp breath and hesitated.

". . . How is he?" he asked faintly.

Tsunade's beaming smile was not something he expected.

"That Hatake Kakashi is the most brilliant man I have ever seen on the face of the Earth," she said. "One special method of rehabilitation and Sasuke's made more progress in a few hours than in a week back when he first came here. Come check up on him when you've got the time."

She left. Naruto was almost tempted to follow right after her. Almost. But he turned in the other direction to head back to Kiba's room.

Kiba was limp on the hospital bed, his head lolling from side to side on the pillow. His right leg was propped up on several pillows and surrounded with a large pack of ice. Dr. May was not present.

"Your mom's coming," said Naruto.

"Mm, that's good."

Kiba's speech was slurred and his eyes unfocused. Naruto could tell from experience that he had been sedated.

"How're you feeling now?"

And just for extra precaution, Naruto's hands moved to protect his nipples from harm. Kiba managed a drunken laugh.

"Stupid."

"Don't."

"Naruto, I pretended to break my arm, and then karma bites me in the ass and I break my ankle instead."

"Accidents happen."

Kiba laughed again and turned to the side, closing his eyes. "I can hear her."

Naruto's own ears perked for any sign of noise, but none came. "Hear who?"

"Mom."

"I don't –"

The door was wrenched open and without any regards to the other rehabilitating patient in the room, Kiba's mother strode in with the war cry of her son's name.

"Kiba! You – oh, hello there, Naruto. How are you? Would you excuse us for a second?"

"Help, Naruto! Call my agent!"

"Mrs. Inuzuka, please go easy on Kiba."

"Don't worry, sweetie. Now please, excuse us."

Tsume shoved him out of the room with strength that could rival Tsunade's and slammed the door shut. Not even a millisecond after she had, her voice rang shrilly.

_"Kiba Inuzuka, what the hell do you think . . .?!"_

Naruto felt bad for the other patient in the room.

The hall was kept from silence with Tsume's screaming turned into a noisy drone. Naruto, feeling awkward with nothing to do, stood back against one of the walls in thought.

Should he go and check up on Sasuke?

He had a few minutes to spare.

Would he speak to him?

No.

He'd just peak in and see what was going on and then be back to pick up what was left of Kiba.

Yeah.

Naruto found that his legs automatically moved to guide him deeper into the hospital where a familiar room awaited him. He expected the door to be slightly ajar so he could peak through, like he always saw in the movies, but it was closed tightly and so he resorted to pressing his ear against the cool barrier.

_"Yeah? Not too bad. Not as loose, either. I think you're up a fraction of a size."_

Tsunade was speaking to who Naruto perceived to be Sasuke. Her voice was filled with a pleased tone, making Naruto wonder what she was talking about.

_"Take it out now. No, sit. You've still got to rest. Just because your shivering is gone doesn't mean it can't come back." _There was a brief pause where Naruto suspected Tsunade was inspecting something. _"One-oh-three degrees. Still a high fever, but better than one-oh-five."_

_"Itachi?"_

Naruto's ears perked at the sound of Sasuke's voice. His tone had returned to its normal, monotonous sound, with a weary edge laced in.

_"Do me a favor and tell Uzumaki to step away from the door."_

_What the hell?!_

Taken by surprise, Naruto fell backwards to land on his backside, eyes wide. He vaguely wondered if everyone had a sixth sense and if so, why was he the only one that didn't get such a luxury?

The door slid open and Itachi stood, smirking.

"Hello, Naruto," he said rather amusedly in his flat tone, extending one arm to lean it against the doorframe. "Fancy meeting you here."

Naruto was at a loss of words. He scrambled from the floor.

"Get out," Sasuke called ominously from inside.

Naruto caught a brief glance of the Uchiha from under Itachi's arm. Sasuke sat on the bed by the window, garbed in a loose-fitting t-shirt that matched his eyes and dark jeans rather than his hospital gown. His hair, though slightly limp, tried its best to maintain its spiky trademark. Naruto thought Sasuke had regained most of his appearance's prestige, the only thing marring perfection being his gaunt form.

"Now, now, Sasuke, I'm pretty sure he has a perfectly logical reason for being here. Right, Naruto?"

Itachi was teasing him, Naruto knew. The blond stood at full height and tried to muster up his words.

"I just dropped Kiba off at the hospital and thought I'd, uh, check up –"

"Get _out."_

Sasuke finally turned to stare at the blond. Naruto was slightly taken aback; there was something different about Sasuke's eyes, something that hadn't been there before – something _eerie._

Kakashi was suddenly striding calmly for the door. He excused himself and took the door's handle from Itachi before walking into the hallway to join Naruto and sliding the door closed behind him.

"How are you, Naruto?" he asked casually, but Naruto waited for the older man to get to the point. "A little small talk never did anyone harm. I heard Kiba is here. What happened?"

"What's wrong?" Naruto asked plainly. "I just stopped by to get answers."

"I understand that." Kakashi's voice dropped to a whisper. "But I just put Sasuke through his second therapy lesson and it's really helped his rehabilitation. He's let out a lot of his stress and is acting pretty normally at the moment. And bringing you in . . ."

He sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. He tried to think of the best way possible to explain.

"It's like this: bringing you in would really help relieve his stress, but you'd have to get him stressed with a lot of explanations be_fore_ he calms down, you know what I mean? And it's only been a few hours after his second therapy lesson. I don't want him to take a step back so soon after he's taken three steps forward. I haven't even let _Itachi _speak to him about anything regarding his therapy."

Naruto mimicked Kakashi's sigh, understanding. "So I can't see him?"

"Not today. We'll see where his rehabilitation goes and if it's still positive by the end of the day, then you should be able to see him tomorrow, okay? And please, don't _ever_ mention the media."

". . . Yeah."

"Great." Kakashi clapped Naruto on the back. His visible eye crinkled with the smile that hid beneath his mask. "Now, what's this about Kiba in the hospital?"

Sasuke stared at Itachi from the other side of the door, relishing in the silence. He felt somewhat normal again to have been allowed to wear his own clothes rather than the degrading hospital gown, and he certainly did feel better when Tsunade told him he had gained a pound. It didn't seem like a lot, he thought, but it would be a lot in the long run.

Of course, then there was the frequent nausea in his stomach, the pounding migraine in his skull, and the annoyance of his clogged nose, but he tried not to be too pessimistic for once.

"Don't you think it's about time you get back to work?" he asked his brother as he fiddled with the newly-placed IV needle.

"I've got a week of leave with pay from both bosses," Itachi replied smoothly. He watched Tsunade draw the curtains closed against the rising moon. "That's not something you should worry about right now. You should be sleeping."

Questions and explanations fogged his mind, revolving around his head and desperately wanting to burst from his mouth, to tell his brother he was wrong, to assure his brother he wasn't worthless. Kakashi's warning, however, suppressed all thoughts and he was forced to mask everything with his indifferent façade.

"Your brother's right, Sasuke," Tsunade commented as she cleaned up a few papers and empty medicine bottles from the table where Itachi's painting once sat. "You've gotten rid of your insomnia. Fatigue will only hinder your rehabilitation if you don't sleep."

Sasuke did not stop to think about his insomnia before. He realized that even without chamomile, he was able to get rest without being pushed to do so against his will.

"Make me," he said anyway, just to annoy Tsunade.

"I pick up after you and this is the thanks I get?"

"I'll send you a gift basket some day."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "It's great to know that Uchiha humor is still alive," she said wryly. "I'm going to check up on Kiba. I'm going to be back in an hour. I want you asleep the next time I see you."

Her figure walked past Sasuke's bed, briefly separating the Uchiha's vision from the painting that was hung on the wall across from him. Sasuke tried his best to stay awake for another hour – just another hour to get Tsunade angry for the fun of it, but he found his eyes drooping and Itachi's figure fading from sight.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

It wasn't Kiba that pulled Naruto from the smaller crowd of students that tried to pry questions from him; it was Sakura. She pulled him away as she slipped through the students to an empty classroom.

"Why didn't you call me back?" she asked.

"You told me to call you back when Kiba woke up, but he didn't," replied Naruto. "But Kakashi just told me he's awake and he can go home tonight."

Sakura breathed a sigh of relief. "Leave it to Kiba to do something as stupid as dislocating an ankle over a few gaming wires."

"Where's everyone else?"

"In class. We're late," Sakura replied as she pointed to the clock.

Class had started four minutes ago. Naruto's eyes turned wide.

"Sakura, you've never been late before!" he suddenly exclaimed before grabbing her wrist and moving to run from the room. "What –?"

"Naruto, it's no big deal." Sakura pulled on her own arm to stop the blond in his tracks. "It's just one tardy."

"But why . . .?"

"Hey." Sakura cocked her head to the side, giving a bright smile and the peace symbol jokingly. "What are friends for?"

Naruto frowned.

_Yeah. What are friends for?_

_"Your other friends want you back."_

"Come on, Naruto," said Sakura softly, pulling her friend from the room. "We've got to think of an excuse on the way."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Naruto smiled more.

He let our hearty laughs and chuckles and was even tempted to prank poor Iruka during Arabic class, but Shikamaru had warned him against it. Kiba's accident ended up being comical in the end, especially when Naruto explained to them about his mother.

"Right after school, we've all got to go and see him, okay?" said Ino as they sat beneath the bleachers during lunch. Her eyes were excited at the thought. "And I'll bring lots of flowers!"

"I'll bring a balloon," Hinata said quietly, a small smile adorning her face.

"Just one balloon? We've got to buy Kiba the whole shop to make him feel better!" added Naruto, laughing.

He and his friends were gathered beneath the bleachers in an attempt to evade any question-bearing students that were still persistent. He felt ecstatic; his mind was cleared of any worries, and of any traces of the Uchiha.

"So we'll all meet a half hour after school?" asked TenTen.

"Why a half hour? Why don't we just go straight there?"

TenTen rolled her eyes. "Does it look like I carry around a box of chocolates all day? How else are we going to get Kiba some presents?"

Neji put an arm around his girlfriend and smirked. "TenTen sarcasm," he said. "It's copyrighted."

Naruto suddenly turned to Neji with a question on his tongue, looking for Lee out of the corner of his eyes as well.

"Kiba mentioned something about a national tournament coming up in a month," he said. "What's that about?"

"The most youthful tournament of them all!" exclaimed Lee, pumping a fist into the air. His hand hit the bleacher above him and he gave a mild yelp of pain before cradling his fist and whispering, "Even a bruised hand cannot bruise my sparkling youth . . ."

"Genma told us about it at the party," said Neji. "It's not the school's tournament, but a marathon for the whole country. It's in about a little over a month or so and Genma said it's not mandatory, but he's holding track meets for whoever wants to participate."

Naruto's mind finally turned to the Uchiha.

"Any prizes?" he asked, giving a grin to maintain his personality.

"Why? You want a trophy to finally put on that empty shelf in your room?" teased Ino.

Naruto pushed her playfully into Chouji's pile of snacks before turning back to Neji, awaiting an answer.

"Five thousand dollars for the winner and five thousand for charity. It's a huge event, this tournament. It sponsored by the largest charity organization and a few of the biggest companies, like Surswoc©."

The school bell sounded from inside of the building, breaking up the group of teenagers with promises to meet each other later.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Naruto was the first one to enter the hospital, his school bag hanging loosely off of one shoulder and a bag of candy bars in his opposite hand.

"Hey, Shizune," he called brightly upon entering.

"Naruto! Kakashi got here a few minutes ago. He's been looking for you. He's in Sasuke's room."

Naruto thanked the woman and grimaced when he turned around. He forced himself to pass by Kiba's room and to venture deeper down the hallway. Kakashi was standing right outside of Sasuke's closed door.

"Ah, Naruto," he said. "How has your day been? The media is starting to get tired, isn't it?"

"Actually, I had three reporters follow me into the supermarket, but I lost them in the canned food aisle. Mini wieners were on sale," Naruto replied casually, unsure of whether to frown at the media or to smirk at his own joke.

"Mini wieners," commented Kakashi. "The devil's food."

"You wanted something?"

"Would you mind following me back to the waiting room? Sasuke is still asleep."

"From yesterday?" Naruto asked incredulously as he followed Kakashi down the hallway. "He's been asleep for sixteen hours?!"

"He was completely exhausted after his therapy lesson yesterday, and his insomnia is finally gone, so I don't blame the guy. But Lady Tsunade checked up on him while he was sleeping. She says his fever went down another degree and his heart rate is almost back to normal. And his influenza has receded to the point where visiting him doesn't require wearing a mask. Here."

He handed Naruto a piece of lined paper before taking a seat in the quiet, sun-filled room. Naruto sat next to him and eyed the paper.

"What's this?" was his automatic reaction as his eyes looked over the scrawl.

_I lost the greatest friend I had because of my screw ups_, the scrawl said. _I deserve it. I deserve every ounce of pain. He doesn't deserve to have a crap friend like me that ruins his life just by existing. (Pause here). But it hurts so badly._

_A while later: And the media is on my back and ruining Naruto's life!_

"That," said Kakashi, "is what Sasuke said about you during his therapy lesson."

Naruto turned back to Kakashi. "I don't understand," he said tentatively.

"I had Sasuke go into this little room and I told him to let out all of his feelings in it, and that I wasn't watching. But I _was_ watching, and I have a recorded clipping of the hour he spent in there. He said a lot of things, and I watched the video again and wrote down everything he said about you. That right there is what he really thinks."

"He said this? He really thinks this?" Naruto was getting wound up. "You said you had a video, right? Can I see it? He really said this?"

"Calm down, Naruto," said Kakashi. He nonchalantly brought his hands behind his head and leaned into them and crossed his right leg over his left. "As his therapist, that video tape is completely confidential. I'd be violating Sasuke's privacy if I let you see it. He doesn't even know I saw it . . . yet. But yes, he said this."

"Why'd you give me this?"

"So you know what to say when you meet him again. How much time do you have?"

Naruto's eyes scanned the room for a clock and calculated. "Fifteen minutes," he said. "Then my friends are all going to get together to visit Kiba."

"That's enough time."

Kakashi stood up and motioned for Naruto to follow him.

"Wait, what? Now? But he's asleep, isn't he?"

"I think sixteen hours is enough sleep."

"But I can't just go in. What if he tells me to get out again?"

"I'll lock the door. Now come on. Fourteen minutes left. And remember: you know nothing of the video."

Naruto reluctantly followed the older man to stand in front of Sasuke's door for the second time that day. Kakashi slid it open, revealing the presence of Itachi and Kisame sitting side-by-side, both with newspapers in their hands. Itachi was reading the headlines; Kisame was reading the comics.

"Itachi? Kisame? Would you mind joining me for lunch at a café around the corner?" asked Kakashi.

"Oh, so blondie's already here, eh?"

Kisame grinned at Naruto's entrance and gave a small wave. Itachi nodded his head and folded his newspaper.

"Come on, Kisame," he told his best friend. "We've got to clear the danger zone."

"Danger zone?" squeaked Naruto.

Itachi smirked. "I have never known my brother to be a nice person when waking up."

"Stop teasing the kid and get out, Uchiha," said Kakashi, yet he couldn't help the smirk that played with his lips. He watched Itachi and Kisame leave before turning to the sleeping Uchiha.

"Sasuke," he whispered as he placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder to gently shake him.

Sasuke groaned and turned on his side. His IV-bearing hand tried to swat at Kakashi's hand childishly.

"It's three-thirty in the afternoon, Sasuke. You'll ruin your whole day if you don't wake up now."

The Uchiha finally turned to open his reddish eyes. He sluggishly pulled himself into a sitting position, still wearing his t-shirt and jeans, and rubbed his eyes wearily.

"Rehabilitation time?" he asked tiredly as he continued to rub his eyes.

". . . You could say that. Well, I'm off to eat lunch. Goodbye."

"Wait – what?"

Sasuke turned to stare at the man that was walking away, but blond and neon orange entered his vision as silver disappeared. The door was closed.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Sasuke told the missing presence of his mentor. "This isn't rehabilitation!"

"It's nice to see you, too," answered Naruto dryly. He took a hesitant step into the room, the plastic bag of chocolates sweaty in the palm of his hand.

"I told you to stay the hell away from my room."

"Well, I came here to talk."

Naruto took a firm seat where Kisame once sat and stared at the Uchiha. Sasuke, in turn, moved to get out of the bed, but his aching migraine forced him against the action. He saw the world begin to spin in front of his eyes and passing out in front of Naruto was the last thing he wanted to do.

"Don't be a hypocrite," he said. "You were the one that got angry at me and walked out."

"You were the one that kicked me out."

"I just showed you the door."

"Yeah, in the rudest way possible."

"I wasn't rude about it."

"It was implied."

Sasuke turned to look at the faint bruises that lined his knuckles, a reminder of the room he had been in. He shuddered.

"Look," he said, "did you come in here just to insult me, or what?"

"I came in here to call a truce."

Sasuke scoffed, a bitter smile now visible. His eyes shot bullets at Naruto's figure. "Don't joke with me," he said. "I have no intention of calling a truce."

Naruto was transfixed on the foreign look in Sasuke's gaze. He tried to decipher it for a fraction of a second before failing and replying, "You sent me away for my friends, didn't you?"

"Did Kakashi talk to you?"

"Because you knew I'd get angry at you."

"He did. Damn him."

"I still think you're an arrogant jerk."

"Get out."

"And I'm not sorry for getting angry at you yesterday."

"Get the hell out, Uzumaki!"

"But thanks for being Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke clenched his bruised hands, savoring the pain it brought him.

"'Thanks for being Uchiha Sasuke'?" he repeated. "What's that supposed mean? Thanks for ruining your life? Thanks for taking you away from your real friends? Are you _stupid_?"

"You can't keep putting all the blame on yourself, Sasuke. I was the one that chose to spend time with you."

"Because I was such a pity case that suckers like you fall for!"

"Enough with the stupid pity case crap!" Naruto's hands moved to wind through his hair. "I don't stick around because you're a pity case! Can't you just admit you tried to do something _nice_ for once?"

"I didn't try to do something nice."

"You pushed me away when you needed me most."

"I don't _need_ you. Don't flatter yourself."

Naruto moved his chair closer to the Uchiha's bed. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Uchiha," he said. "A simple argument isn't going to stop me from coming back."

"Just go!"

"No."

Sasuke reached out in a split second, straining to grab the front of Naruto's shirt. He pulled the blond closer to him so that Naruto leaned over the bed.

"What's it going to take to get you to leave and never come back?" he whispered. "To make sure I never see your face again?"

"I know you don't mean that."

"How the hell would you know?" hissed Sasuke, shaking Naruto in his grasp.

Naruto finally wrenched his shirt from Sasuke easily due to the Uchiha's bruised hands and stood up straight.

"Why are you always trying to push people away, Sasuke? I don't understand it. We always end up having the same kind of conversation and it's starting to get old, so I want answers."

No silences ensued for the first time in a conversation between the two.

"I can't stand ruining your life, Uzumaki," Sasuke said after the longest sigh he felt his body could give. He suppressed a cough and ran his hands through his limp hair. "I feel like I'm _fi_nally getting better. If I keep sending your life downhill, all my progress is going to come crumbling down."

Naruto smiled. "Yay," he said evenly and good-naturedly. "An answer. It's good to know you care about my life, Uchiha."

"I don't care."

"So if you care about mine," he continued, ignoring Sasuke's comment, "why can't I care about yours?"

Silence.

"And if you're getting better, how can you possibly make my life worse?"

Silence.

Naruto moved to head for the door. "If it helps, I'm finally leaving. Kiba's in the hospital, too, with a dislocated ankle, so my friends and I are going to visit him now."

Silence.

"I'll be back."

. . . Silence.

Satisfied, Naruto left the room, giving himself extra points for making such a theatrical exit. He slid the door closed on the unmoving Uchiha and told himself that he, perhaps, had finally fixed the broken part of Sasuke's rehabilitation.

Maybe.

His friends were already crowding the waiting room, each of them carrying something different. Hinata had a large batch of balloons stringed tightly to her left hand. Shino had a flea in a plastic box. Naruto had to do a double-take when seeing Sai.

The peculiar boy held a rather large potted cactus in his hands.

"Sai, what's with the cactus?"

"I read in a book that the best present of all should be a symbol of what the receiver reminds you of."

Naruto picked up the card that was strung around the thinnest arm of the lime-colored plant. It was adorned with smiley faces.

_I think you're a prick_, it said. _Get well soon._ (^_^)

"Do you think he'll like it?"

Naruto could not help the bout of laughter that bubbled in his throat.

"I think he'll love it."

They were piling into the room Kiba was held in seconds later. Kiba was now officially the only patient left; the other patient had gladly been released the previous night.

Kiba was awake when they entered, his foot wrapped tightly with bandages and suspended on a pillow.

"Hey," he said tiredly. "Everyone's here."

"With presents!" exclaimed Ino. She placed a bouquet of flowers on the desk next to Kiba's bed.

"You guys _do_ know I'm leaving the hospital tonight, right?"

"You're right," said Naruto. "We should've brought more candy. There's no way all of this will last you until tonight."

"Not that I don't mind." Kiba tore open a candy bar and devoured it in a few bites. "Hospital food sucks." His slanted eyes turned to where Shino had placed his flea in a box on the desk by Ino's flowers. "Shino, why is there – Sai, what the hell?!"

"Take good care of it," said Sai, planting the potted cactus in between Kiba's legs.

"Why is there a cactus on my bed?"

"That'll be explained with time," commented Naruto. He didn't want to be around when Kiba read the card.

"How long are you in that troublesome thing?" asked Shikamaru, motioning to the bandages around Kiba's foot.

Kiba sighed. "The bandages are just to make sure my foot's straight, or something like that, and then they're going to put me in a cast before I go home. Doc said it was a good thing I didn't break my fibby-thingy –"

"Fibula," supplied Sakura.

"Yeah, that, but I'm out for six weeks. Crutches for four."

"Ouch."

"I know."

The group elapsed into a long conversation. They sat together for an hour, speaking and playing and throwing around chocolates and punching balloons.

"What did your mom do, by the way?" asked Ino as their actions settled down an hour later.

Kiba's cringe did not go unseen. His eye gave a reflexive twitch. "Lots of screaming," he said. "And no video games for a week, but I can still go out. She says it'll be torture enough to walk through school on crutches for four weeks."

"Hey." TenTen came back from the bathroom and entered, her eyebrows slightly together in thought. "I just saw Sasuke's older brother walk out of the bathroom. Is Sasuke still in the hospital?"

Kiba groaned. Naruto stared.

"Yeah, he is, actually," he said.

Sakura turned to the group behind her and bit her lip, wondering if she should voice the thoughts of most of the occupants of the room. She plucked a single yellow bell flower from Kiba's bouquet and turned to stare at Naruto.

". . . Can we see him?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------

A semi-cliffhanger to satisfy my sadistic needs.

I'm loving Sai right now.


	18. Hit the Floor

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto, I'd abuse my own franchise.

**Author's Note:** Hooray for the last vacation in the school year! Happy Easter for some of you, and Happy Sham el Nassim for others!

Not much to talk about in this author's note again. I'm really happy a lot of you liked Sai's cactus joke!

This chapter pushes forward - a _lot_ - so prepare yourself for little dialogue at some times.

I'm satisfied with the ending. Keep reading, please, because a whole new story has just opened up.

Enjoy.

Oh, oh! And we've hit three hundred reviews! Catch me before I faint! **T.H.A.N.K. Y.O.U. A.L.L.!**

**Chapter 18  
**…**:::Hit the Floor:::…  
****Bullet for My Valentine**

Sasuke's eyes would not leave the open window. He thought he had been cooped inside for too long. A yearning to walk on something other than tiled floors swelled in his chest.

"Remember when I caught your flu in the summer when I was fifteen?" Itachi asked suddenly.

The elder Uchiha had returned with Kakashi ten minutes prior; Kisame had left for work. They found Sasuke quietly staring at the window and a nurse picking up an empty tray of food by his bed. Kakashi had left later as well, leaving the two Uchihas alone.

Sasuke nodded to his brother's question without averting his eyes.

"And I wasn't allowed out of the house for three days?"

Nod. Nod.

"Well, that's the end of that story."

Sasuke finally turned around and rolled his eyes. "Thank you, brother, for that lovely and insightful story."

"Any time."

Itachi sat with one leg over the other, a pencil and office notepad in his hands as he sketched by the window with the ghost of a smirk tugging on his lips.

"Bored?" he spoke up once more, still staring at his notepad.

"What do you think?" was the bitter response.

"You can't leave until your fever is better. It's only a matter of days."

"I feel fine!"

". . . Preaches the boy who collapsed trying to change his clothes."

Sasuke crossed his arms childishly over his chest. "You suck, you know that?"

"I try."

"Do you _always _have to end our conversations with a two-worded statement?"

"Of course."

Tired at the lack of proper response from his brother, Sasuke turned back to stare at the scenery from his window. He heard the scrape of a chair that signaled Itachi's brief departure for a bathroom break. When he returned, Itachi walked to Sasuke's table and leaned over it to stare outside.

"Kakashi should be coming in tonight for another therapy lesson," he commented casually. "I'm guessing a portion of it is going to be physical for that gym stunt you pulled off yesterday."

"I've had worse. Anything to get me out of this place."

A knock at the door burst the Uchihas from their bubble. Tsunade appeared, followed directly by Kakashi. The silver-haired man strode to the Uchihas immediately.

"Sasuke, this is a bit of a surprise therapy lesson that came up suddenly."

"What's going on?"

"You have visitors," said Tsunade.

Sasuke grew tense. "Who? Kakashi, what's going _on_?"

"Don't worry," the man tried to assure his student. "I told them I was just visiting you. Just trust me on this, okay?"

"No, wait, Kakashi –"

But Tsunade was already beckoning the visitors in. Sasuke froze, his eyes moving to watch the doorway. His breath was held in. He could feel his heart, hearing the _ba-dump, ba-dump, ba-dump_ of its quickened pace.

"He's awake, brats," he heard Tsunade tell the group. "Stop worrying and go in."

Sasuke's eyes strained themselves at the slightest sign of the first person to enter. They fell upon something familiar to him, something unusual to the rest of the world: pink hair.

_Pink_ hair.

Sakura.

Yes, it was Sakura, Sasuke finally concluded when her entire body came into view. She moved further into the room to allow Sai to enter behind her in all his belly-exposed glory. Hinata shyly sidled in after him and stood off in a little corner, her hair covering her face.

"Come on, Itachi," said Kakashi as Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji walked in. "We've got to leave Sasuke to his company."

"Why is it that everyone is allowed to see my brother but me?" Itachi pretended to complain as Kakashi pushed him from the room. His eyes did not fail to hide his concern nonetheless. "Have fun, Sasuke."

His brother's sudden departure broke him from his trance. "Itachi!" he called after him. "Wait, you –"

But Itachi was gone and Naruto entered with the last of the crowd, closing the door behind him. Eleven teenagers were now standing around Sasuke's bed, each of them silently watching as the Uchiha turned to stare at them individually.

In the brief seconds it took everyone to settle down, Sasuke's mind was filled with a whir and buzz of thoughts.

_Eleven people . . ._

His chest constricted.

_Eleven people seeing me like this in the hospital._

His breath hitched.

He could feel his panic begin to creep up on him, pricking his chest with its sharp nails to grasp his throat and squeeze. It felt harder to breathe. In, out, in, out, in, in, in – why couldn't he breathe?!

_Eleven people . . ._

Would he really allow eleven people he knew to see him go into a panic attack? Would he really show them his vulnerability?

Sasuke's hands unconsciously clenched the sheets beneath him in a numbing grip as he battled internally with his own mind. To show eleven people how weak he had become was the last thing he wanted to do. He wouldn't submit to his phobias.

He said he wouldn't.

". . . What's going on?" the Uchiha forced from his mouth; it came out rather awkwardly. Panic still held its grip around his throat, but he tried to force down small gulps of air.

"Well, I told you I'd be back!" Naruto replied rather brightly. "And everyone wanted to see you, too!"

_Everyone . . . what?_

Uneasiness descended thickly upon the room. Chouji shifted to the right. Shino coughed. Sai smiled and waved.

_Breathe, Uchiha!_ Sasuke's mind screamed as it began to fog. _Breathe!_

"Um . . . we got really worried when you . . . uh, collapsed," TenTen said in an attempt to break the awkward tension.

Naruto's eyes instinctively shifted to the Uchiha. No one else in the room knew of Sasuke's trauma. Was it possible for someone to trigger a panic attack? The blond began to regret allowing the other teenagers in. He bit his lip.

Kakashi had agreed, though. If the older man had agreed, then it was for the best.

Right?

Naruto looked to where Sasuke's chest began to move up and down with more force.

Right?

"Sakura, I believe there is something you wanted to give to the Uchiha."

Neji's fluid voice sounded in the air, effectively breaking through the awkward silence to reach the pink-haired girl by Sasuke's bed. He raised an eyebrow to complete his gesture. The silent Hyuuga had caught the hitches in Sasuke's breath. The second the Uchiha turned to stare at Sakura, Neji exchanged glances with Naruto.

_Thank you_ the blond mouthed.

Neji smirked.

"Oh, right!" Sakura exclaimed in sudden remembrance. She held out the yellow bell flower for the Uchiha to take and grinned. "Get well soon, okay?"

Sai leaned over to Shikamaru, confusion etched into his features.

"I do not see Sasuke as yellow, bright, bell-shaped, or a flower. Why is she presenting him with such a gift?" he whispered.

Shikamaru sighed. "Flowers are the usual gifts," he replied. "They don't need to resemble anything."

Sai quickly wrote this down.

Sasuke stared at the flower for a brief instant in confusion before reaching for it with his left hand. He caught himself. The hand he was reaching with was not only the one attached to the IV drip, but it had also begun to shake. He retracted his hand quickly.

Sakura frowned.

"I'm sorry!" she quickly said. "Are you allergic? I should've asked you first!"

Naruto gave a short laugh and took the flower from her hands to lay it on the desk by Sasuke's bed. "No worries, Sakura," he said with a smile. "Sasuke just doesn't know where to put it."

He looked over to the Uchiha with an apologetic glance. Sasuke was too busy trying not to hyperventilate to notice.

_"Are you allergic?"_ his mind repeated. _". . . allergic?" ". . . allergic?"_

_"Why didn't you make sure she wasn't allergic to it?!"_

His mind was the video player that replayed clips of the horror movie that was his life. He tried to stop his hands from shaking, to stop his breaths from coming out in gasps.

_You don't want them to see you like this,_ he told himself. _Stop it. Stop it._

"But hey, you look a lot better than the last time I saw you," chirped Ino, not noticing the internal conflict Sasuke took part in. "When are you getting out of here?"

Sasuke stared at her in silence.

"Your youth is sorely missed at school," Lee tried.

Finally, a sentence made it quietly and ominously from the Uchiha's chapping lips: "If Uzumaki forced you into this room, I understand if –"

"Whoa, hey!" Naruto quickly interrupted. "They were the ones that volunteered to see you! Don't dump everything on me!"

"Hey," whispered Hinata at last. Her nervousness forced her stutter into action. "A-are you . . . D-d-does . . . does that h-hurt?"

All eyes followed hers to Sasuke's bruised knuckles, their yellowish and purplish hues distinctly visible on his pallid complexion. He clenched his fists and drew them back slowly, silent.

Neji put his hands on his cousin's shoulder and looked at Sasuke with pale eyes. "Perhaps it is not the best time to visit Uchiha," he said quietly in his deep tone. "Recovering from influenza is not the most pleasant thing in the world, and I doubt eleven people squeezed into his room is doing any good."

"I read in a book that –"

TenTen shoved her elbow roughly into Sai's bare stomach.

"Neji's right," she supplied. "We don't want him to get any worse."

"See you in school, Uchiha," Shikamaru was the first to say, locking eyes firmly with Sasuke for a brief instant before turning around and sliding the door open. "I need someone smart to get Asuma off of my back."

"Excuse me?" Sakura called back hotly. "What about me?" She moved to follow Shikamaru, but she looked back and smiled softly. "Sorry for coming in without permission," she said to Sasuke. "But we're worried. So get better, okay?"

Inhale, inhale, inhale.

His throat was constricting tighter, tighter, and he thought he would pass out.

The rest of the teenagers began to leave their wishes, their get-well-soons, and their presences were eliminated from the room until it was just Neji who had yet to leave. He turned to Sasuke and frowned.

"I don't know what's going on, and I know you won't tell me," he said. "But get well and come back, Uchiha." He started to turn around, seemed to remember something, and turned back. "And please," he added, "say hello to your mother for me. She has taken great care of Hinata. I see she is no longer in the hospital."

Neji left, unaware that Naruto had turned back to Sasuke with frightened eyes.

"Sasuke?" he asked, worried.

Had the Hyuuga unknowingly triggered something?

Sasuke's eyes were wide and his breathing had officially become labored. His hands clenched fistfuls of his own shirt, twisting the material in his grasp as he gasped for breaths that would not come.

"Sasuke, no," pleaded Naruto. "You're doing so well. Don't panic now. Come on."

The blond gently tried to pry Sasuke's fingers from his shirt. Sasuke's wide-eyed expression was frozen in place. Not even a twitch or flinch marred his look of terror.

"Sasuke! Hey, Sasuke!"

The door slid open to reveal Itachi and Kakashi, their expressions neutral. Itachi slid the door closed as Kakashi began to saunter forward.

"How was it?" asked the therapist, still unaware of the situation.

Sasuke bent his head over the side of his bed and vomited.

"What?!"

"Sasuke!"

"I take it not very well."

Sasuke's head spun, drowning in a sea of vertigo. The exclamations around him turned into drones. The voices meshed together in a ringing that would not stop.

Inhale, inhale, inhale.

Down, down, he was falling into oblivion as the world continued to spin and blur in an erratic dance, as his migraine became overbearing, and as his stomach threatened to heave once more. He fell back into his pillows limply.

Someone was grabbing his shoulders.

_Mom?_

Someone was trying to get him to sit upright.

_Ugh._

Panic squeezed harder, harder, harder, and Sasuke found himself submitting.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke jerked awake.

Night had fallen to darken the lightless hospital room. Streetlights seen in the distance from the open window made up for the lack of a moon. An impish breeze played with the separated curtains and sent a chill tumbling into the room.

Sasuke stared around, confusion lifting from his features. He put a hand to his face to feel a respirator around his nose and mouth. Annoyed, he lifted it from his face and put it off to the side of the bed as he continued to try and make sense of what had happened.

Itachi was leaning over the edge of his bed, his head in his arms and his breathing evened in his sleep. Sasuke frowned. He didn't want to send Itachi into days of fatigue and anxiety like he did before.

The yellow bell flower Sakura had given him sat limply in a plastic cup filled with water on his table. Sasuke stared at it for a while in thought. His lips twitched, considering an unfamiliar upwards motion, before he turned his head away.

He swung both legs off of the bed with surprising ease, his prosthetic leg in place, and set his bare feet down on the tiled floor. The IV needle begged him to stay in bed, but he simply pulled it out (and winced in the process).

He was surprised at how easy it felt to maneuver through the room. His migraine had eased, and although his throat burned, his stomach flipped, and his body felt abnormal degrees of cold temperatures, the symptoms were not as worse as they had been when he had originally entered the hospital.

Quietly, Sasuke slipped one of his unused blankets from the bed and draped them gently across Itachi's shoulders before leaving the room.

It must have been late into the night, he gathered. The hospital hallways were deserted and eerily silent. Sasuke found that he rarely needed to use the walls to support himself as he trudged along to the bathroom.

"Sasuke?"

_Hooray._

Kakashi quickly caught up to the Uchiha and stood in front of him, confusion etched into his few visible features.

"What are you doing out of bed?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"Are you feeling alright?"

"Actually," whispered Sasuke, "I feel fine. What time is it?"

"Eleven. You had a pretty nasty collapse back there. Are you sure you're feeling well?"

Sasuke nodded his head for affirmation. "I'm _fine_, Kakashi," he said. "I'm heading to the bathroom, unless you want to use my piss for some analyses."

Kakashi smirked.

"I guess that proves you're fine, then."

Sasuke moved to continue, putting a hand delicately and briefly to the wall for support.

"Sasuke, do me a favor and come to Lady Tsunade's office when you're done, okay?" called Kakashi when the Uchiha had finally made it to the door of the bathroom. He didn't wait for an answer before leaving.

Sasuke finished with his business and now stood in front of the sink. His hands gripped the circumference of the porcelain, elbows locked in place to support his frame as he examined himself in the mirror.

He was still slightly reddish from fever, he observed, but his face had filled in by a fraction. His cheekbones were not as scarily prominent, and his eyes were only slightly shadowed.

"Nice, Uchiha," he told himself. "A few more days and you're out of here."

_To go where? To do what?_

He didn't try to dwell on it. His body and migraine weren't in the mood to think depressive thoughts. They wouldn't be able to handle it, he thought. He forced rising bile down his throat and pushed off of the sink.

Tsunade looked up from her conversation with Kakashi when Sasuke entered the open door.

"Why are you awake so late into the night?" she asked, motioning for Sasuke to take a seat on the medical table.

Sasuke shrugged.

"Typical," was the blonde's reply. "Is Itachi still asleep?"

Nod.

"Kakashi," the Uchiha finally spoke at last. "Is Itachi staying with you?"

"Actually, he's been back in your house since yesterday."

Sasuke raised his eyebrows.

"And he's got the water back on."

"Seriously?"

Kakashi smiled. "Seriously."

"Sorry to ruin this little intimate moment, but I'd like to have a medical checkup done." Tsunade stared at Sasuke, her hand hesitantly reaching for her supply bag. "Are you okay with having one now?"

Sasuke wasn't sure whether to sigh or shrug first; he settled for a simple movement of one shoulder.

"I'll get it over with," he said.

Immediately, Tsunade snapped into action. "Clothes off, legs over."

Standard procedure. Sasuke slowly shed his shirt and uncomfortable jeans, not daring to look at his own body lest his mind remember the pain and memories that came with the scars that marred his flesh.

Tsunade's surprisingly warm hands prodded his stomach lightly before placing a stethoscope over his breastbone. Sasuke considered holding his breath simply to annoy her, but he was suddenly tired of being annoying for a day. Fatigue washed over him at high tide in the minute Tsunade knelt affront of him.

"Your heartbeat is still a little off," she told him. She noticed his weary stance and shiver. "If you don't feel well enough, then we can always –"

"No, no, just get it over with." Sasuke managed a smirk. "I'll probably never be this willing again, so you should take advantage of that."

Kakashi's mind was already one step ahead of him.

The silver-haired mentor was thinking back to the video tape. He thought the Sasuke that sat affront of him now – positive, healthy (for the moment), willing Sasuke – was perfect for confrontation. The time was now.

"Sasuke, why don't we wake Itachi up when we're done here and talk a bit?" he asked as he leaned against the wall.

"Please don't."

The reply wasn't at all what he expected.

For one thing, it was polite. Sasuke had always taken on an informal, crude tone with his mentor, never finding a need for courteous mannerisms such as "please". Sasuke had also declined. Kakashi, for whatever reason, had expected him to agree.

Sasuke allowed Tsunade to grasp his prosthetic leg as he spoke. "I know you told me to listen to you and everything," he said. "And I know it's probably another one of your therapy lessons in the making, but can we do it tomorrow?" One of his bruised hands rubbed his face tiredly. "I don't want to wake him up. Please?"

Kakashi thought Sasuke looked so pitiful in that one moment: hunched over, ribs prominent as he sat in nothing but plaid boxer shorts, prosthetic leg out for inspection. It was ridiculously pitiful.

"Yeah," he whispered, unexpectedly dejected. "Yeah, okay. Tomorrow, then."

Tsunade asked Sasuke to place a thermometer beneath his tongue and stand on the scale in the corner of the room. He did so, sliding off the bed leisurely.

"One hundred six," she announced. **[1]** "Still not good for a boy your age and height, but you've gained two pounds from two days ago." She slid the thermometer from his mouth. A satisfied smile graced her lips. "One hundred. Congratulations, Uchiha. You're out of the danger zone."

"And that means that collapse yesterday was purely psychological," commented Kakashi.

Naruto had told him what Neji had said.

"So I'm almost out of here?" asked Sasuke. He already had his shirt over his head. "The weekend and that's it?"

"Don't get too hasty, Uchiha. We'll see how much better you get tomorrow and then we'll see where that takes us."

Sasuke couldn't help a smirk. "So the weekend and that's it, then."

"Get out of here with that cocky attitude of yours and back into bed."

"What if I don't feel like it?"

"Kakashi, do the honors."

"Gladly."

Sasuke, confused, stared at the advancing man and did not have the time to process what was going on until he was suddenly in the air, slung over one of the man's shoulders.

"Oi!" the teenager protested. "Put me down!"

"You know you enjoy this."

"Pedophile!"

"Don't flatter yourself, Sasuke. You're not the only good-looking kid in Konoha."

"Pervert."

"Chicken butt."

"Old man."

"Imp."

"Ooh, that's a new one. Reading the dictionary lately?"

"I'm surprised you know what a dictionary is."

"Likewise."

Kakashi was already setting Sasuke back into his bed, being careful not to disturb the older, sleeping Uchiha who hadn't moved from the position he had been left in. Sasuke unconsciously snuggled into the pillows.

"I'm not tired," he said, completely unconvincingly.

Kakashi looked at the discarded IV needle, noting that he'd have to ask a nurse to place it back in. His eyes repositioned themselves onto Itachi, then to Sasuke, whose own obsidian orbs had closed.

"Why're you staring?"

Sasuke's question came out in a hushed whisper. He hadn't opened his eyes, but he could always feel another's gaze upon himself.

"I'm a pedophile, remember?" replied Kakashi in the same tone.

"Mm."

Kakashi felt depressed.

The extent of Sasuke's life suddenly hit him with driving force: a teenager who was with his own father when he committed suicide. Comatose for six months. Three months of physical and mental rehabilitation. A new town, a new school, drastic decrease in wealth, comatose mother, overworking brother, social issues, serious illnesses . . .

Kakashi only managed to make himself even more miserable.

He took another look at the Uchiha sleeping serenely for the first time in a while and wondered what it was like to think like him. He wondered what went on in his mind. Kakashi didn't blame him for being unstable, for being angry, for doing all the things wrong that he had done.

He didn't blame the Uchiha for contemplating suicide, either.

It had been inevitable, Kakashi knew. Yet, he praised his pupil for managing to make the right decisions, even if he had to climb up a ladder of wrong decisions to reach the best.

He pushed the corny, depressing thoughts from his mind.

Sasuke was getting better. To bring the negative thoughts flowing back would do no good. He was his _therapist_ for goodness sake! If he was the one getting depressed, what would happen to his patient?

"Good night, Sasuke," he said.

The Uchiha didn't give any reply. He was already asleep.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke woke early the next morning to find Kisame staring at him.

"Yay!" the man had exclaimed, blue skin crinkling in delight. "I get to help you rehabilitate for an hour!"

Kakashi had left Kisame to take Sasuke to the hospital's gym and supervise his training while the silver-haired man spoke with Itachi. After breakfast and training, Sasuke returned for another checkup.

Itachi and Kakashi were both oddly silent that day.

Naruto had not made an appearance in the morning, but his whiskered face emerged in the afternoon when Kakashi and Itachi had left to speak for the second time. The blond practically bounced into Sasuke's room.

"You look like you're feeling great!" he burst out. "Are you feeling great?!"

"Are you on crack?" the Uchiha replied smoothly.

He was, however, feeling rather well. His muscles ached from the aftereffects of exercise and his migraine certainly lived on, but most of his other influenza symptoms had disappeared in favor of a simple case of sneezes.

Naruto calmed down somewhat. "I'm just really happy," he said. "Things are going great."

_Except for the media, _but the blond decided to leave the subject out of the conversation.

Sasuke was surprised to find Naruto outstretching his arms with another flower. It was a beautiful blue tiger lily, wrapped in a delicate plastic. "From Ino this time," the blond explained as he placed it next to Sakura's flower. "Her dad owns the local flower shop. Everyone says hi."

Sasuke was antsy for the rest of the day. Naruto left early with a promise to be back late; he was meeting his other friends for dinner. Itachi and Kakashi returned, tension sweeping in the room with an air so thick, Sasuke felt he could cut it with a knife and serve it on a platter.

"What's wrong?" he dared to ask his brother when Kakashi left.

"Nothing, Sasuke."

Friday came quickly and uneventfully. Tsunade came in to check on Sasuke first thing in the morning, bringing breakfast with her before Itachi could even come to the hospital.

"If you're down to ninety-nine degrees today, you'll be released tomorrow afternoon."

Sasuke crossed his fingers, feeling the familiar uncomfortable stiffness of the thermometer beneath his tongue.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock . . ._

His eyes rolled to the flowers that decorated his table to pass the time. Sakura's was beginning to wilt, having been cut from its stem. Sasuke frowned. He was pushed from his thoughts when Tsunade slid the thermometer from his mouth.

_Come on . . . come on . . ._

Tsunade frowned.

"Ninety-nine."

Sasuke smirked in triumph when Tsunade did. "Are you going to miss me?" he teased, turning to his breakfast.

"I'm sure I'll be seeing a whole lot more of you. You and Naruto are still going to get on each other's nerves."

Sasuke waited for Itachi to come, watching the clock on the wall and counting down with it. His stomach twisted when the afternoon came rolling in and no one had entered his room since Tsunade's checkup. Frowning, he sneezed twice before leaving his bed in favor of searching for signs of life.

Shizune told Sasuke that Itachi had not entered, and Tsunade was with an emergency hospital patient. She suggested calling Itachi. Sasuke shook his head. He would wait.

School ended and Naruto came in with Kakashi. Sasuke was not in a mood to talk. He replied with nods of his head, or small hums from his throat. To Naruto's questioning, Sasuke simply replied that it was "one of those days." Understanding, Naruto left early. Kakashi was left to send questioning glances to his sneezing pupil.

Itachi finally entered the hospital at dinner, carrying a tray of food in one hand and one of the smallest canvases Sasuke had made for him in his other.

"Why didn't you come earlier?"

Itachi apologized. "It was one of those days," he said flatly, placing Sasuke's dinner on the table by his bed.

Sasuke almost laughed at the irony.

Almost.

Itachi presented Sasuke with the canvas before sitting in a chair affront of his little brother. "Something to make you feel better," he said shortly before turning to stare out of the window.

Sasuke stared at the canvas for a while, his eyes examining the picture. It was the miniature playground behind their old elementary school. Itachi had painted the scenery simply, but it was the drawn swing set that was the most detailed, having been given the most attention. Sasuke's mind returned to the days of his childhood, sitting on that single swing with Itachi pushing him from behind.

A smile toyed with his lips for a brief instant before the mood of Itachi's painting finally hit him.

Misery washed over Uchiha Sasuke simply by staring at the picture.

Itachi had said it would make him feel better, but the way the scenery was painted, the way the swing set stood out and alone, the way the colors were flatly blended made the painting extremely depressing.

Sasuke knew his brother's paintings were always trying to convey emotions – _his_ emotions, for the most part, and even thought Itachi had aimed for happiness, his true feelings screamed from the scenery.

"Itachi, are you alright?" Sasuke asked hesitantly as he placed the canvas by the flowers on his table.

Itachi looked to him. "Yeah," he said. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason."

It was a quiet night, that Friday.

Saturday came and passed. Sasuke waited for Kakashi to come around in the morning to ask him about his brother, wondering if something was terribly wrong. The silver-haired man told Sasuke not to worry about much. He said he had spoken to Itachi about something and the older Uchiha hadn't taken it well.

When asked about what it was he had spoken about, Kakashi told him not to worry again.

Sasuke was getting agitated at the lack of answers for his questions.

He spoke very little in the afternoon, even when Naruto stopped by for a placid conversation. Tsunade came in for another inspection. Sasuke's fever was still at ninety-nine degrees, but his feet no longer wobbled when he stood and he had gained another pound.

Naruto frowned at the silent Sasuke.

"Are you okay?" he asked softly, far from his usual boisterous voice. "If you want me to leave, I can, you know."

"No," Sasuke whispered. "Don't leave."

Being alone in the room was the last thing he wanted at that moment.

"Is it another one of those days?" asked Naruto, trying his best not to sound like he was mocking the Uchiha's words.

Sasuke nodded his head. "There are a lot of those days, apparently."

Sunday rolled in at last. Sasuke woke early, having slept at ten the previous day. Itachi was there, sitting in his silence with an office notepad and a pen.

"So I get to leave today?" Sasuke immediately asked.

Itachi nodded his head, his mood considerably lighter, but something still hidden behind his eyes. "You've managed to recover in a week. I'm impressed. You've come a long way."

"I can help you with work and everything now."

Sasuke sat up in bed, running his hands through his hair in an attempt to make it look somewhat presentable. He saw Itachi's gaze snap intensely onto him.

"No, Sasuke," he said. "No. You just focus on school and your life, okay? I don't want you working."

Sasuke let out a bitter laugh suddenly. "School? Who says I'm going back to school?"

The door slid open with perfect timing to let Tsunade, Kakashi, and Naruto in at once.

"Ready for your final checkup, brat?"

"Why aren't you going back to school, Sasuke?" Itachi continued, not listening to Tsunade's question.

The new arrivals perked their ears at the statement.

"Are you insane, Itachi?" asked Sasuke. "Going back to school is like feeding me to the wolves."

"I understand you might not want to come back so soon, and we can wait a week or so until you're ready, but you've got to go back some time," Itachi tried to reason.

"Sure. When I'm in a different country, maybe I might think about going back. _Maybe._"

"Hey, now," Naruto interrupted, walking forwards with a foreign serious expression upon his face. "You can't be serious. After all of this, you're going to hide away? What the heck?"

"I'm not hiding away, Uzumaki. Stay out of this."

"No, I'm not going to stay out of this. You're just not going to go back because you're afraid of the other kids?"

"I'm not afraid," scoffed Sasuke. "I –"

"What happened to the Uchiha Sasuke I knew?" Naruto continued anyway. "You can't honestly think running away –"

"Running away because you're afraid and not coming back because you want to protect your own life are two different things, Naruto!" exclaimed Sasuke. "If I go back there, who knows what the hell could happen!"

"Take a risk, then!"

"There's too much at stake to take a risk."

"Sasuke, this is _school_ we're talking about!"

"We're not talking about school," replied Sasuke, his voice leveled. "We're talking about my life."

"You'll come back to school," Naruto concluded.

"You can't be so sure."

"There's a national marathon."

Naruto dealt his trump card. He watched the Uchiha silence, listening intently, obsidian eyes urging him to continue.

"There's a national marathon in a little over a month that Genma is helping to train for," Naruto explained, repeating Neji's words. "People from all over the country. Biggest tournament of the year."

He paused, locking eyes firmly with Sasuke before continuing.

"Five thousand dollars prize money."

"Naruto," Itachi warned.

But the blond continued anyway. "Registration is through the school."

The lie fell smoothly from his mouth. He wanted to convince Sasuke to go back to school, and simply telling him that Genma would help in training was not enough; the Uchiha would say that he could train himself. Lying was necessary, the blond told himself. It would work. He crossed his fingers in his mind.

Sasuke sat straighter, his eyes determined.

"Itachi," he said, his eyes still locked with Naruto's, "I'm going back to school tomorrow."

"Sasuke, I don't –"

"Itachi."

Kakashi beckoned the older Uchiha outside, but Itachi grew defiant.

"No, not now, Kakashi. I really don't think Sasuke should be going to school tomorrow, and the idea of this marathon is –"

Kakashi was pulling Itachi from the room.

It was the strangest sight. Kakashi had reached for Itachi's wrist and grabbed the man, pulling him sharply from the chair he sat in and out of the room. The door closed behind them and Kakashi strode to the nearest empty room, Itachi still in his grasp.

"Kakashi!" Itachi wrenched his hand from the man's grasp and used it to rub his face roughly, his shoulders shaking from the fury he fought back. "I'm really trying hard not to punch you in the face," he concluded honestly, out of character, his tired eyes watching the silver-haired man.

"Itachi, what's wrong?" Kakashi asked when he closed the door in the new room. "Why are you the one that's getting worse just as Sasuke's getting better?"

"You can't be serious about letting him go to school tomorrow, Kakashi! We've been trying to rehabilitate his mental health, not destroy it in a single day! If it's already hard for Naruto, how hard is it going to be for Sasuke?"

"I understand your concern, Itachi, but he's determined for this marathon that's coming up –"

"That's the other thing," interrupted Itachi. "Another marathon. Kakashi, we saw what the last marathon did to him. He went insane over that, and in the end, it was all for nothing. He's getting so much better. I don't want him to fall back down again."

"He's eating properly, he's getting healthier, and his training isn't as drastic. Itachi, he's learned from his mistakes. This tournament isn't going to go the same way."

"What about school tomorrow? You still think he should go?"

"Naruto's friends aren't exactly going to let Sasuke get eaten by the wolves. He's told me what they do to protect him from the persistent students, and I'm sure they'll do the same for Sasuke. And I'll be there, and the entire staff. We've tried our best so far and for the most part, it's died down. Just trust me on this."

"Trust you?" Itachi repeated, his agitated tone turned incredulous. "_Trust_ you? Kakashi, believe me, I'm trying my best to trust you, but you keep making these decisions that are just completely _insane_!"

"This is about what we've spoken of two days ago, isn't it?"

Itachi's eyes grew feral, but his expression remained dangerously indifferent.

"How can you possibly tell me not to speak to Sasuke about that therapy session?" he whispered with enough venom to cover the floor. "Don't you realize that's the biggest problem right now? How can you possibly hold it off for so long when that is the very thing that will solve everything?"

"Itachi, I know it seems like a radical decision, but I know what's best for him. I thought speaking to him as soon as possible about that session was the best thing, but I was wrong." Kakashi leaned against the wall with his right shoulder. "We shouldn't bring it up, especially since a few of the things he spoke of have been getting better. Please, don't dwell on that. It'll come up when it needs to."

Itachi put his head in his hands, taking in a deep breath. "I hate this," he said wearily. "And I don't want to do this."

"I know," Kakashi replied simply. "But it'll pay off. Come on."

Sasuke was already out of bed when Itachi returned, dressed in a crimson shirt and khaki pants, his worn, orange lace-bearing sneakers on his feet.

"So soon?" asked Itachi, gaining his indifferent composure as he entered the room.

Tsunade pushed a white paper bag into Itachi's chest. "The best part," she said sarcastically. "Medications and prescriptions with the instructions for each inside. Sasuke's still got a slight fever. I don't want him doing anything too rigorous until it's gone."

She gave Kakashi a pointed look. The man held his hands up defensively.

"I threw away my handcuffs!"

"I've seen that crazy house of yours, Hatake. Who knows what you're hiding in your closet."

"I'm not the only one that might be hiding something." Kakashi's eyes stared meaningfully at Tsunade's breasts. "If you know what I mean."

"Get out of here before I skin you alive, Hatake. Don't forget who the mayor of this town is."

"There's nothing wrong with the truth, _Lady_ Tsunade."

Sasuke walked to his brother as the conversation ensued between the eldest adults. His put Itachi's neon orange hat on his brother's head and grabbed the two paintings and the flowers in his free hands.

"Ready to go home?" he asked.

Itachi straightened his hat. "Are you?"

Kakashi finally turned away from Tsunade as Sasuke nodded. "Sasuke, get settled, don't do anything too stressful today, and I'll see you in school tomorrow," he said.

Naruto clapped Sasuke on the back, smiling. "See you tomorrow, Sasuke."

Uchiha Sasuke finally stepped out of the hospital and took a breath of fresh air, relishing in the natural light of the day. He stood, his arms outstretched, and stared at the sky.

"It feels good," he told his brother in a whisper. "After an entire week in that damned hospital, it feels really, really good."

They took the long trail through the thicket of trees as they trekked home, not wanting to attract any unwanted media. "For all I know, they still think I'm in the hospital," Sasuke had commented as his hands delicately traced the leaves on their journey.

Itachi nodded.

Sasuke looked up at his brother. The canopies of the tall trees shadowed Itachi's face.

"Are you alright now?"

Itachi looked at him, his expression unreadable.

"Yes, Sasuke, I'm okay."

_Liar._

"Do you have to go back to work tomorrow?"

"Yes."

_Damn._

". . . Are you worried about me?"

"Yes. Yes, I am."

Sasuke shifted the canvases beneath his arm, suddenly uncomfortable. The chill of the air wracked his body for a brief instant in his silence.

"You don't have to be, you know."

"I know. May we change the subject?"

"The weather's pretty nice, isn't it?"

"Better."

Sasuke smirked rather sadly, staring back at the trail to see the opening just ahead. The Uchiha brothers crossed the street carefully to finally come to the foot of their apartment building. Looking around for any signs of people, Itachi led Sasuke inside and to the elevator.

"No stair-climbing today," Itachi said as he hit the button for the seventh floor. "Kakashi said not to do anything too stressful."

Sasuke complied silently despite itching to move his legs.

The younger Uchiha squinted upon coming to their floor. Their apartment door was covered in what looked to be a litter of papers. Upon further inspection, Sasuke realized that it was, in fact, a cluster of papers taped to the door. Long scratches and scars were embedded into the wooden barrier.

Itachi fiercely pulled the papers from the door one by one, revealing more scratches in the wood. He jiggled his key in the doorknob quickly and pushed the door open.

"What are those?" asked Sasuke as Itachi pulled him in. "And what happened to the door?"

"The media."

Itachi crumpled the papers into a large ball and disappeared into his room to throw them away. Sasuke closed the door behind him and stared around, nostalgia hitting him briefly. The house had been kept exactly the way it had been before Sasuke left except an easel had been set up by the window with tubes of paint littering the coffee table next to it.

Itachi reentered and took the canvases and flowers from Sasuke's hands. He put the flowers on the windowsill.

"Water's back," he said. "Electricity's not, meaning cold showers. I've paid for eviction, so you needn't worry about anything."

Sasuke followed him into his room where Itachi hung the largest canvas on an empty nail across Sasuke's bed. The smaller canvas was placed on his desk.

"Rest in bed for today, okay? Kisame will be over soon."

"All day in bed?"

"You don't want to pass out in school tomorrow, I presume."

Sasuke grimaced and flung himself onto his bed, savoring the feeling of his own pillows, taking in the scent of his own room.

"Do you think I'll be okay tomorrow, Itachi?"

_No, no, no,_ Itachi's mind repeated in an ominous mantra. _No, no, no, no, no!_

"We'll have to wait and see, won't we?"

Kisame arrived later, bringing pizza with him and slipping into the Uchiha household with a bright cry of "Viva el Uchiha!" **[2] **He stayed, speaking non-stop and even daring to verse Sasuke in a game of chess (and failing miserably). It wasn't until very late, when Sasuke had taken his long list of medications and was drooping sleepily on the couch, did he finally leave.

Itachi picked his little brother from the couch and brought him back to his bed. He leaned over to set the alarm clock at his bedside.

"Good night, Sasuke."

And suddenly, it was back to seventeen hours of work, to waking up to the annoying buzz of an alarm clock, to the lonely Uchiha household.

Except this time, Sasuke was prepared.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

_Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . ._

_Bzz . . . Bzz . . . BZZ!_

Sasuke groaned at the familiar sound and turned over in his bed to grope for the snooze button. Upon remembering why the alarm had gone off in the first place, he shot up in bed, eyes wide.

School.

"Itachi?" he called in precaution.

No answer.

Sasuke sighed as he got out of bed, naturally falling back into the lonely routine. It was as if he had never spent a week traumatized in the hospital.

The shower, as Itachi had warned, was cold._ Freezing_. Sasuke barely managed to stay beneath the peppering droplets. He checked his own temperature as he dressed in a navy blue t-shirt and black pants.

_Ninety-nine._

Grimacing at the recurrent temperature, he found his overdue homework, packed it into his bag, and left his room with his hair still dripping wet.

He smiled.

Toaster waffles had been set out on the kitchen bar with a wooden cup of orange juice at their side. Sasuke picked up the note, recognizing Itachi's flawless handwriting.

_I toasted them with a lighter. Happy eating._

Ignoring the scorch marks, Sasuke ate his breakfast slowly, his eyes lambent. He looked at the clock in the living room and felt no need to hurry; the first bell would ring in forty-five minutes.

With thirty-five minutes left until the first bell, Sasuke finally pulled on his tattered sneakers, slung his bag over both shoulders, and headed out of the door . . .

_FLASH!_

_CLICK!_

_SCHWIP!_

. . . And was met with blinding white lights.

"Uchiha Sasuke!" a voice rang out. "You were in the hospital for a week. Tell us! What happened?"

Sasuke couldn't see who was talking. He was too busy digging the heels of his hands into his eyes, temporarily blinded. He could hear the clicks and flashes of what he realized were cameras as he backed into his door.

"Mr. Uchiha, about your prosthetic leg!"

"Uchiha Sasuke! Your empire!"

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

"Sasuke!"

"Sasuke!"

"What's going on?!" Sasuke screamed, now able to distinguish the figures of four reporters, each of them holding either a camera or an audio recorder.

He pushed through them violently when they would not let him pass. One reporter in particular grabbed onto his backpack in an attempt to get him to stay, but Sasuke wrenched fiercely from his grasp.

Panic suddenly rose in his chest as he contemplated what to do. They would follow him down the stairs if he decided to take that route, and some of them would take the elevator and reach the ground floor faster than he would. He hadn't switched his prosthetic leg into its athletic mode, either, and running down the stairs would do too much damage.

He needed time.

He needed time to switch modes, to calm down, to think things through.

And suddenly, he had an idea.

Without saying another word (and keeping an eye on the audio recorder), Sasuke thrust his finger into the button for the elevator. The cameras kept flashing. The Uchiha vaguely wondered how much money they spent on film per person.

_Ding._

Heaven came and opened its doors to Sasuke. He practically jumped through the doors and jabbed his finger to enclose himself in the elevator. The reporters tried to squeeze through, extending their hands through the narrow entrance and snapping pictures.

"Get – out!"

Sasuke attempted to push their hands away from the confused elevator doors. Finally, after several minutes of struggling, the doors finally closed and Sasuke collapsed tiredly against the furthest wall in the elevator, realizing that he was sweating and panting heavily.

_"The stairs!" _he heard one of the reporters shout, and there was suddenly a loud scuffle from behind the closed gates of Heaven.

After a few seconds, Sasuke pushed the button for the third floor.

For a millisecond, his panicked mind contemplated going back to the seventh floor to lock himself in his house until Itachi came and helped him out, but his sensible side took over and told him not to depend on people so much anymore. He needed to do things himself. As the doors opened for a second time to a quiet, serene hallway, Sasuke congratulated himself for thinking of such a foolproof plan in a matter of seconds.

He slipped his remote control from his backpack and changed his leg to its athletic mode in a matter of seconds before he stood still and listened intently. The reporters were pounding away on the second level, scrambling to reach the ground level. Sasuke smirked at the thought of them waiting stupidly for him to appear from the elevator.

The Uchiha opened the window at the end of the hallway and clambered out of it. His feet touched the metal floor of the fire escape.

_Genius,_ he flattered himself as he began to climb down the metal ladders. _Pure genius, Uchiha._

The second his feet hit the ground, he took off running to school. No one had seen him yet, he mused, but he didn't want to take any chances. He was panting and sweating at the deserted front doors of Konoha High in a matter of minutes.

Without a second thought, his hands pushed against the heavy entrance. A familiar wave of light and smell rushed at him and he welcomed it, breathing in the air that smelled of new notebooks, gym socks, and cheese doodles.

No one was there.

Perfect.

The bell was to ring in fifteen minutes. Sasuke began to walk to the office he seemed to live in. _Dmm . . . dmm . . . dmm . . ._ His padded feet echoed, lonely, against the walls of the long hallways.

Kakashi's office door was opened with the man standing inside, shuffling through his papers. His bag was still across one shoulder; Sasuke suspected he had just entered. Without a word, Sasuke walked in and plopped down on one of the beanbag chairs. The wave of cool air from the air conditioner hit blissfully on his sweating body.

Surprised at the sudden presence, Kakashi turned around. He laughed.

"Fall out of a tree, Big Bird?" he said, giving another laugh as he closed the door.

When Sasuke raised an eyebrow in confusion, Kakashi reached over and pulled several leaves and a twig from Sasuke's still-wet hair.

"Oh."

"What happened?"

Sasuke grimaced. "I had reporters follow me, but I took the fire escape and managed to lose them. I ran through bushes a couple times."

"Smart thinking." Kakashi threw a roll of paper towels at him. "Dry your sweat. A shower plus sweat plus air conditioning is going to make that fever of yours rise right back up."

"What class do I have first?" asked Sasuke as he tore a few pieces from the roll and wiped his face hastily.

"Chemistry. Come to me during lunch. And if you ever start feeling panicky or uncomfortable, just ask to head to the bathroom and then come straight here."

Kakashi knelt before Sasuke, his visible eye staring back at him with utmost seriousness.

"Are you ready, Uchiha?"

Sasuke stared back at him with the same expression. His ears picked up the distinct sound of students beginning to fill the hallways. Their chatter was deafening. Sasuke's heartbeat broke its calm rhythm and began to race.

"Yeah."

He stood up to brush off nonexistent dust from his pants and to adjust his backpack. His hand grabbed the doorknob. The fading bruises on his knuckles were a reminder of his determination. He clenched his other hand, turned the knob, and opened the door.

The second he stepped out, the hallways silenced.

Uchiha Sasuke was back.

----------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] One hundred six - **This is a random note, but just in case you thought it sounded funny: my fifth grade math teacher believed that the proper way of saying a number like 106 was "One hundred six" instead of "One hundred **and** six" because decimals are taught by saying "and". So I picked up the habit.

**[2] "Viva el Uchiha!"** - Yes, I know it's "Viva la . . ." But this is Kisame talking. I think that's explanation enough.

Cliffhanger! Dun dun duh~!


	19. Half Down

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . the manga would be moving quicker!

**Author's Note:** Sorry! A few hours late, but still here!

We're moving a lot further with the plot! As for now, enjoy this chapter. Balancing angst and humor once more!

A few mistakes here and there because I'm talking to my best friend from New York and I looked over the chapter while I was talking (because of time reasons).

Without further ado, I introduce to you Sasuke's return!

**Chapter 19  
**…**:::Half Down:::…  
****Ryo Nishikido**

**WARNING: Language. Lots of it.**

Uchiha Sasuke expected a flurry of questions.

Uchiha Sasuke expected a succession of shouts and screams.

Uchiha Sasuke even expected hands to grab him, to tear at his clothing, to pull him into the mass of students.

What he did not expect, however, was silence. Complete and utter silence. Every gaze, every eye, every head was turned in his direction. Movement stopped, and along with it, time seemed to stop as well.

Sasuke stood in the doorframe for a while, staring right back. He swore he could hear a strand of hair drop to the tiled floor in the silence. It seemed the students in the hallway were too stunned at the sudden appearance of the Uchiha to speak; their words were lost on their tied tongues.

Very smoothly, Sasuke maneuvered through the throng of teenagers and headed off to Chemistry. No one dared to move to stop him. They still stood motionless in shock.

"Sasuke!"

Sakura came bounding down the hallway, ignoring the other students, her pink hair bouncing and her hand outstretched in a wave. She stopped directly in front of Sasuke, a smile adorning her face.

"You made it!" she said excitedly.

And suddenly, reality resumed.

Sasuke almost reeled from the deafening chatter that hit his ears. He couldn't make out any of the questions being fired at him; they had all merged into one long drone.

"Come on," Sakura said with a more serious tone. "Let's head to Chemistry."

A majority of the crowd followed Sasuke, some of them trying to reach for his body, others simply trying to reach for an answer. There were boys suddenly slinging arms over his shoulder, trying to pull him away, acting like Sasuke was one of their long lost friends as they smiled and chatted before shooting questions at him.

Girls were suddenly grabbing his shirt, his shoulders, his arms, smiling sweetly and crooning his name. They flipped their hair over their shoulders and batted their eyelashes before they began bombarding him with words and questions. One girl even tried lunging for his leg. Panicked, Sasuke began to run, Sakura guiding him.

This was insane, Sasuke thought. Absolutely insane. He was back in a world of fake people. Fake, phony, masked people that tried to befriend him, except it wasn't for his money this time.

He was panicking. He could vaguely feel Sakura's hand slip around his wrist to pull him through the crowd. His knees threatened to buckle. It was too much to take on at once. Too much –

"Everybody _STOP!"_

Silence.

The scream was ominous, gaining a reaction that was instantaneous. It held infuriation and venom so deep that the air was thick with emotion. Genma suddenly appeared, his toothpick hanging from his snarl, his eyebrows drawn in rage, and his steps heavy.

"You guys are acting like _animals!"_ he said. "And this is the _second_ time I've had to say this!"

Sasuke had never seen the easy-going coach so angry.

"He's a human being, damn it! Do you want people asking about your damn life every five seconds?!"

Silence.

"I asked a question!"

The students shook their heads slowly, and those who were brave enough muttered an inaudible "No."

"I didn't think so!" Genma stared at every member of the student body. "If I hear _any_ – and I mean _any_thing asked about the Uchiha's personal life around here, I swear it'll be the end of your life as you know it. And I'm a coach," he added ominously. "I'm not afraid to get fired."

Sasuke hadn't known Genma long enough to tell if the threat was empty or not, but the students in the hallway immediately began to disperse, shuffling quickly back to their classes. Sasuke knew they would be back, but he was safe for now.

Genma strode to where Sakura and Sasuke stood, the halls almost empty. His look of anger was dissolving gradually.

"Thanks, Mr. Shiranui," said Sakura, a small smile on her face.

Sasuke said nothing.

"Sorry about having such a crappy welcoming, Uchiha," Genma addressed Sasuke. "I've been trying to get them to shut up for a week now, but some people just won't give up."

Sasuke shook his head. "Thanks," he said quietly. "I'll get used to it."

"If there's ever any trouble, I'm free," offered Genma.

Sasuke nodded his head.

He just wanted to sit down.

Sakura led the rest of the way to Asuma's classroom where a pack of whispering students already sat, their eyes averting to Sasuke the second he stepped through the door. Asuma was there, acknowledging the Uchiha's presence with a nod of his head and a slight smile. Sasuke returned the nod.

Naruto, frowning, beckoned him over to where he sat with Hinata, Kiba, and Shikamaru. Sasuke was welcomed with a faint greeting from Hinata and a nod of the head from Shikamaru.

"We could hear Genma screaming from here," said Naruto.

"So troublesome," Shikamaru spoke up.

Sasuke silently sat in the empty seat on Naruto's right side, observing the room briefly. He shuddered faintly at the nostalgia that came.

Kiba, sitting on Naruto's opposite side, watched Sasuke through his thin eyes. A pair of crutches leaned against his desk to complement the blue cast that swallowed his right ankle. Sasuke caught Kiba's eyes.

Sighing on the inside, Kiba did not avert his gaze.

He nodded.

"Uchiha."

The dog-lover had stayed up the night he had been in the hospital, thinking. He had reached the mature conclusion that Sasuke had enough troubles for his own, and the reaction of the students to the Uchiha had only reinforced his ideas. Sasuke didn't need another enemy.

Sasuke looked at him closely, questioningly.

"Inuzuka," he finally acknowledged, returning the nod.

Naruto smiled a little on the inside.

Sasuke was glad Asuma never took role call. The teacher simply looked around the classroom to see who was missing or who had walked through the door late and put a respective letter beside their names on his attendance sheet.

For the first time in a week, Sasuke's name had a check beside it.

To Sasuke's utmost gratefulness, Asuma did not act like anything out of the ordinary had happened, like the Uchiha had never fallen at the tournament, revealed a hidden prosthetic leg, left for a week, and then suddenly showed up at school that very morning. He simply turned to the board and began his lesson.

Sasuke tried his best to listen. His right hand moved swiftly across his notebook, taking down every word that appeared on the chalkboard. Not even Shikamaru's soft snores could snap him from his line of concentration.

Sasuke's grades had fallen drastically since the start of the semester and it would take every ounce of his energy to bring them back up to perfection.

But the whispers broke him from his thoughts.

The constant whispers behind him, in front of him, beside him would not allow his eyes to focus on Asuma's diagram at the front of the classroom.

And the staring.

Sasuke suppressed a shudder. There were several people in particular who would simply not stop staring at him. Sasuke began to find it hard to swallow.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I know the Uchiha's pretty, but I think my lesson over here is the only thing that'll help you pass the class."

Asuma was facing the class, his hands on his desk and his eyes watching the crowd of students. Never once did his gaze meet Sasuke's. The students gradually turned to stare at him, silencing.

"Good."

The Uchiha sighed softly.

Just three more classes, a lunch break, one more class, and then he would be free. Four more classes and a lunch break and then it was off to Genma.

Asuma held Sasuke back after class. Naruto waited with him.

"Glad to have someone intelligent back," said Asuma warmly.

"Hey!"

"Where's that lab report, Uzumaki?" Asuma immediately countered the blonde's outburst.

"I'm working on it!"

Asuma turned back to the Uchiha.

"You've missed a lot of work," he said as he handed Sasuke a folder filled with worksheets. "Sometime this week, you've got to come in to do a lab. I'm free after school and during lunch. There's a list in there of all the textbook questions you need to do."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "This is how much work we did last week?"

"No, this is how much work you _should've_ done last week."

He stared pointedly at Naruto, who gave his trademarked sheepish grin. Asuma rolled his eyes, but a smile cracked on his lips at the blonde's regained personality.

"I expect this work done by next week, handed in to me no later than nine o'clock on Monday. No exceptions. What's your next class?"

"Psychology," Naruto spoke up for Sasuke.

"Good. Jiraiya won't care if you're late. Now get to class. Uchiha, remember: no exceptions."

Sasuke shifted the folder to his other arm and finally met Asuma's eyes.

"Thank you," he said before turning around to leave.

The words hid more meaning than just a simple gesture for giving homework, and Asuma picked up on it.

_Thank you for not treating me differently._

"Are you doing okay so far?" asked Naruto as they walked through the halls.

Leftover kids were scrambling to head to their classes before the bell would ring in a few seconds, too preoccupied to turn back and confront the Uchiha. Those who were already at their classroom doors stood, watching as Sasuke walked by without glancing them, before their teachers called them back into their rooms.

"First period wasn't so bad," he told the blond truthfully. Psychology came into view. "But Chemistry isn't exactly the worst class to be worried over."

Naruto thought about what Sasuke said briefly, his mind sorting through the list of classes for the day.

Oh.

P.E. was forth period, followed by lunch.

"They'll have to get tired of it eventually, you know," supplied Naruto. "They're going to realize you'll never give them answers and then they'll just give up."

Sasuke's mind went back to the years before his coma, to the days spent in school when the girls would follow him nonstop, and when the boys pretended to accept the Uchiha into their groups. He clenched his bruised fists unconsciously, finally walking through the door of Jiraiya's classroom.

"No," he whispered, taking a seat in the back where an awaiting Kiba sat. "They'll never give up."

Psychology's treatment was just the same. Jiraiya held no mercy over the Uchiha, and Sasuke was thankful . . . until Jiraiya called him up to the front of the class during a work period and handed him assignments for three essays, two readings, and two analyses over the readings.

"Good to have you back, kid," Jiraiya told him sincerely when Sasuke was leaving his classroom. He patted him on the back; Sasuke flinched from his contact. "Good luck."

Kiba hobbled beside Sasuke and Naruto for a few moments, kicking up conversation unwittingly.

"That's a brutal load of work, Uchiha," he said casually, eyeing Sasuke's filling backpack.

"Something to keep me busy."

"Kiba, watch out –!"

Kiba's instinctive reaction was to turn to Naruto, but upon doing so, he felt someone push roughly against him in order to reach the Uchiha.

"Sasuke!"

It was a girl. A fangirl, Sasuke concluded when he couldn't place a face. A rabid, plastic fangirl.

Kiba, however, lost his balance. His crutches slipped against the tiled floors and he began to fall backwards, giving a yelp of surprise.

"Oh my gosh, Sasuke, I'm so glad you're back! Tell me it isn't true! It isn't true about what the media said, right baby? Right?"

Sasuke saw Kiba begin to fall.

"Oh, baby, they're horrible, right?"

Saw Kiba begin to fall.

"Baby!"

But Kiba's back didn't hit the ground.

Sasuke was there to support him, his hands on Kiba's back to prevent him from falling. Kiba blinked in surprise a few times when he didn't feel a harsh impact and found himself being righted. Naruto handed him his crutches.

"Are you alright?" the blond asked his friend.

Kiba blinked again, still somewhat confused, before he stared to where Sasuke stood affront of the girl that had bumped into him.

"You," Sasuke said hollowly, his face with an expression of indifference. "Shut up."

The girl stood, shocked for a few seconds. The warning bell rang and broke her from her trance.

"Don't be in denial!"

She tried to cling to his arm, but Sasuke wrenched it from her grasp roughly and turned away from her. Some of her friends that stood off a little ways away giggled. Sasuke grimaced.

"We've got English, Sasuke," said Naruto.

Sasuke was wordless as he followed the blond away. Kiba, whose class was in the other direction, turned to Sasuke, a smirk revealing a single canine tooth.

"I guess you're not _that_ big of an asshole, Uchiha," he said teasingly.

Sasuke took it as a compliment.

Kurenai's red, red eyes watched Sasuke stiffly walk to his seat; she watched him take out a notebook and flip to the next clean page before leaning on one elbow, a pen twirling through his slender fingers.

"Going to try a little harder this time around, Uchiha?" she asked him.

Sasuke graced her with a silent, emotionless stare.

"I look forward to reading what you've got to say," continued Kurenai. "Especially after that 'Weasel' story you wrote a while back."

Sasuke listened twice as intently during Kurenai's class.

His ears grew accustomed to tuning out the whispers around him in favor of focusing on Kurenai's light voice as she spoke of the chapter she had assigned the class last week. Kurenai grew agitated when almost no one bothered to answer her questions; they were too transfixed upon the Uchiha.

Shino pushed his dark-tinted glasses to his face, answering yet another question. He had greeted the Uchiha with a simple stare.

"You _do_ have participation points in this class," Kurenai ground out before the end of class. "I expect you to be paying attention, or it's points off of your own grade. Next chapter is homework."

Sasuke routinely waited for Kurenai, telling Naruto to head off to P.E. without him. Kurenai had given him a large book, telling him that she had handed it out last week and that he needed to read eight chapters with a different form to fill out per chapter.

Sasuke took his sweet time walking to P.E.

He knew the boys that were usually late to the changing room would be in there, waiting for him to undress before them so they could watch with taunting eyes. Entering, his own thoughts were confirmed. _Every_ boy was in there, some of them already dressed, others slowly putting on their shirts. Sasuke turned heads as he placed his bag in an empty locker before walking to sit placidly on the bench by Neji.

"Pleasure as always, Uchiha," Neji commented as he put a shirt over his head. "I see you're well."

"Not a hundred percent, but I try," Sasuke replied casually.

Again, the other boys waited, watching him, but Sasuke simply leaned against the lockers, putting his hands behind his head. Lee greeted him enthusiastically with a salute.

"Your youth gleams like the sheen of a thousand pearls beneath the burning sun!"

". . . Yeah, you too, Lee."

And they still waited.

"Ready to go, Sasuke?" Naruto asked as soon as he finished. He raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you're not dressed."

"I know."

Sasuke stood up and exited the changing room with Naruto, Neji, Lee, Shikamaru, and Chouji (Kiba was in the clinic), the attire he had worn to school unchanged. He smirked at the groans coming from within the room as he walked away from it.

There was no way he was changing for P.E. anymore.

Gai's greeting was as unusual as Sasuke braced himself for. He was swiftly lifted from the ground and into Gai's spandex-bearing arms, feeling the droplets of the teacher's waterfall-like tears on his head.

"Mr. Gai, we must celebrate!" Lee exclaimed. "Let us do a thousand laps around the track!"

"My most youthful student is right!" Gai pumped a fist into the air, Sasuke still stuck close to his chest with one arm. "Everyone! Run! Run and let your hearts _soar!"_

"Free time?" Chouji asked as he watched Lee prance away.

"Free time."

Sasuke spent his free time wisely, actually choosing to get in a few easy-paced laps and considering it rehabilitation. He found that his stamina was not as great as before. He blamed his illnesses and malnutrition. It would take a while to get it back up to his original level.

Towards the middle of class, Sasuke found three boys running alongside him. He looked to his side, wondering if it was Naruto, Lee, and Neji, but he could still see Lee ahead of him and Naruto and Neji walking slowly alongside one another. The three boys around him were other classmates.

_Other_ classmates.

"Hey, Uchiha," one of them said with unconvincing friendliness. "How's it going?"

Sasuke ran ahead a little.

They followed him.

"That Chemistry homework was really hard, right?"

_I wasn't here for a week, you dolt_, Sasuke was tempted to bite back, but he kept his calm exterior and ran ahead a little more.

They followed him.

Again.

One of them, however, outstretched a leg at the last second, catching Sasuke's left leg and effectively forcing him to stumble. The Uchiha caught himself skillfully and managed not to fall. He, instead, carried on, cursing all the while.

"I felt it!"

The boys were ignoring him now, jumping in triumph.

"I saw it!"

"Did you?"

"Yeah, yeah! I saw his leg!"

They turned around, their eyes wide in victory . . .

. . . only to run right into Neji.

"Boys," the Hyuuga said smoothly. "That was rather out of line."

"What the heck's your problem?" Naruto continued angrily.

Sasuke kept running.

And running, and running, and running, faster, faster.

He was escaping the world again, he believed. He knew he was going to be treated the same way for the rest of the school year – perhaps, he thought, for the rest of his life.

Damn.

Sasuke returned to the locker room the second Gai blew his whistle to signal the end of class. He was silent in an attempt to calm the fury that threatened to bubble in his chest, but could not suppress a strangled yell of rage upon coming to the locker he had thrown his bag into.

His backpack had been opened. Several of his worksheets were strewn around the floor, with most of them sticking messily out of the locker. Sasuke quickly searched to see if any of the contents inside were missing; there had been nothing inside of it besides a pen, his homework . . . and his remote.

His hands scrambled for the remote. It was in a pocket he hadn't originally put it in, meaning someone had toyed with it. Sasuke kicked the lockers harshly with his right knee.

It shouldn't be this way, Sasuke thought. He shouldn't be the one being bullied. He should be the one everyone feared. He should be the one no one dared to stop in the hallways; the one no one dared to mess with, just like before. But now, he was the target, the victim, the tease.

"Whoa, what happened here?"

Naruto and the others had entered, slightly surprised by the disheveled state of Sasuke's area. The blond immediately bent down to gather some of the papers by his feet.

"Someone broke into my locker," the Uchiha all but growled.

"Did they take anything?" asked Lee as he handed Sasuke a large pile of worksheets.

Sasuke slammed the door to his locker.

"There was nothing in there to take."

He told Naruto not to wait for him before he left for the Guidance Office. Kakashi would most likely keep him for the entire lunch period. Sasuke's anger turned his ears deaf against the whispers that would not cease to follow him.

He thought it was only in the movies.

He thought directors only exaggerated the extent of the whispers that would follow him, but it was true. It was real. And Sasuke knew it was real because it was happening right now. He imagined a camera zooming in on his brooding figure as the students around him were blurred.

"I can't believe he lied . . ."

". . . He's not rich . . ."

"Look! I can see his leg!"

Sasuke grit his teeth in attempt to stop himself from biting at the lies that spilled to the floors.

_Click._

_Bang!_

"What –?"

Someone was suddenly pulling him away from the hallways and into a room. A familiar room.

The Sound 5's room.

Jirobo was the one that had pulled him in as if it had been tradition, and Sasuke was thrown brutally against the wall.

"Easy, Jirobo."

Tayuya.

It was the first time Sasuke had seen her in person since his drunken stunt. He stood against the wall, his back aching, watching the fuchsia-haired girl sit casually on a desk in front of him. Sasuke could not help his eyes from averting to her stomach. It was prominent by only the slightest centimeter.

The room was devoid of any of the other members. Jirobo sat on the unoccupied teacher's desk, his eyes watching Sasuke for any sudden movements.

"Long time, no see, Uchiha," Tayuya finally spoke.

Sasuke was silent.

He was wondering what Tayuya would do to him. His left leg unconsciously tensed. Tayuya noticed.

"Relax," she said. "I'm not going to do anything." Seeing Sasuke's unconvinced gaze, she continued. "We don't want you anymore."

"What changed?" Sasuke immediately replied.

Tayuya's lips twitched into a sardonic smirk. "The fact that you don't have a penny to your name."

Sasuke scowled and pushed himself off of the wall. "If you brought me here just to mock me –"

"Wait, Uchiha."

Jirobo helped Sasuke comply with Tayuya's order by guarding the door. Sasuke turned around, frowning. Tayuya stood up to walk to him.

"Kimimaro's doing a lot better than he was before," she told him. "'Cause of that IV thing he brought back."

She leaned backwards on another desk. Her shirt rode up to expose the rounded flesh beneath.

"And you helped him out a lot – especially on that one day. . . . So thanks."

Sasuke stood still, trying to decipher what Tayuya really meant. He eyed her carefully. A part of him still believed Kidomaru would come out of the corner with a chainsaw.

He was crazy enough to do it, too.

Finally, Tayuya's words registered sincerely in his mind and he turned to meet her gaze.

"He's helped me on a far greater scale."

"It doesn't matter," she replied. "His condition isn't worsening. So thanks." Her demeanor changed in an instant. One of her arms pointed to the door. "Now get the fuck out before I have Jirobo beat the shit out of you."

Sasuke smirked. "My pleasure."

A thought struck him the second his hand touched the doorknob. Kimimaro's emerald eyes floated in his mind for a brief instance.

"Hey," he said with a tone less harsh than it had originally been. "Tell Kimimaro I say hello, okay?"

He didn't wait to see if Tayuya agreed. He knew she wouldn't admit to doing a favor for the Uchiha, but he knew she would do it anyway.

Kakashi was shuffling through things in his desk when Sasuke walked in. He looked up, surprised.

"I was beginning to get worried. I thought you'd run into trouble," he said. "Why are you so late?"

Sasuke collapsed into his usual beanbag chair and threw his bag to his side. "I ran into an acquaintance," he said.

"A good acquaintance?"

"Not completely bad."

Kakashi sat down, pulling out a large pile of journals. Sasuke recognized them as his.

"Looks like this idea is worthless now," Kakashi commented, absently flipping through one. "It was pretty good during your first months of rehabilitation. How'd your day go?"

Sasuke was forced to be honest for the sake of his therapy. He told Kakashi about the whispers, about Genma, about the teachers, about the students during P.E., and about the Sound 5. Kakashi nodded through it, randomly offering Sasuke a cucumber through the Uchiha's story.

"No feelings of collapses at all?" Kakashi asked at the end of Sasuke's story.

"Once before Genma screamed."

"And your fever?"

Sasuke smirked. "What fever?"

"One more class period," Kakashi said, pleased. "And then you've officially survived an entire day of school."

Sasuke rolled over in his beanbag chair. A wry smile played with his lips. "You'd be surprised at how much can happen in one period."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Pre Calculus passed by slowly, just like it always passed by. Being in an advanced placement class, there weren't too many students there to whisper about Sasuke behind his back. There were only two boys and a girl that sat in the corner, occasionally cutting off their conversation to give the Uchiha a fleeting glance before returning. The rest of the students were too paranoid about missing something in the lesson.

Naruto and Shikamaru, the only acquaintances of Sasuke's to be in the class (Naruto's only best subject was math, which had startled Sasuke at the beginning of the semester), sat on either side of him, both equally silent.

_Ding-a-ling-ling!_

That was it.

It was 2:50. The official school day was over. Sasuke had made it without a single collapse.

"Congrats," Naruto said as he stood up from his seat and gathered his books. "How does it feel?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"I've got to head to my locker, but I'll meet you on the track after school, okay?"

The Uchiha headed down the hallways in peace; Sarutobi was walking through the halls and no one dared to speak to Sasuke when he was around. He made it to his locker without a single whisper to his ears and took out his respective textbooks and the clothes he had actually brought with him that day for track.

But Sarutobi's figure disappeared from the hallway.

And Sasuke was an open target.

He began his trek to the locker room where he knew Naruto, Neji, and Lee would be waiting for him. Kiba would be there, too, simply out of boredom.

A shadow was looming over his own, unexpectedly. Something small dropped to the floor with a scratchy _shink_. Sasuke gave the object an instinctive fleeting glanced and looked away.

Yet his head went back for a double-take.

A dollar.

A dollar had been dropped right in front of his feet, and the boy who had dropped it stood right in front of him. Students continued to pass around Sasuke, their images blurring in the rage that came to him

A dollar.

It was a dollar.

A _dollar._

Sasuke looked up to stare at the boy directly in the eyes. He was about the same height, with heavily-lidded eyes and a shag of sandy hair. Sasuke couldn't place a name, or an age.

"Go ahead," the boy sneered. "Pick it up. Quick, now, before anyone sees."

"What's the dollar for?" Sasuke ground out through gritted teeth. His hands clenched around his textbooks.

"Oh, come on, Uchiha. You could use a few extra dollars."

The next thing the boy knew, he was being slammed against the nearest set of lockers, fistfuls of his shirt in the Uchiha's clenched fists. He was surprised at the power the frail boy held.

"What the hell are you trying to play at?!" Sasuke screamed.

The halls stopped now. Students were gathering around, excited at the slightest hint of action. They were ready to cheer on whoever was to win, but they were gathered beneath a blanket of silence for the time being.

"Thought you'd pity me? Huh?!"

The boy was trying to maintain a calm, sarcastic demeanor, but fear was beginning to rattle his spine at the burning anger in Sasuke's eyes.

"You need all the pity you can get," he said in an attempt to sound brave.

Wrong move.

"I don't need your fucking pity!"

Sasuke's hand came down upon the boy's cheek, wrenching the boy's face to the side. As an instinct, the boy swung his own fist. It connected weakly with Sasuke's chin.

The students began to get rowdy, excited once more, cheering no one on in particular. Someone in the crowd screeched for them to stop, but Sasuke's ears were deaf with the violent ringing he heard.

"How _dare_ you?!"

Sasuke gripped the boy's shoulders tightly, digging his nails into the flesh. The boy tried to swing another fist. It connected with Sasuke's nose, strong enough to send the blood flowing, but not strong enough to break it.

The Uchiha lifted the boy from the lockers and dropped him to the floor, straddling his flailing legs. He could feel the blood flowing sickly and warmly from his nose, and watched as it dripped to the boy's contorted face before it was jerked violently to the side with the force of his punch.

"Do you think my life is funny?" he demanded. He didn't wait for an answer as he punched the boy again. "Huh? Why the fuck are you always trying to bring me down?"

Punch.

"I didn't do _any_thing to you!"

Punch. Punch.

"I don't even know your fucking name!"

Sasuke paused for a second, trying to compose himself. The boy took advantage of this and sent a punch aimed for Sasuke's cheek. It missed and hit Sasuke's temple instead, effectively stunning the Uchiha for a few seconds.

Sasuke lifted his hand to throw another punch. He wanted the boy to feel his pain. He wanted the boy to know what it was like to live his life. He wasn't insane. He wasn't manic. He was angry.

Really angry.

"Oomph!"

The next thing he knew, he was being tackled to the floor by a figure twice his size. He looked up to see the angry, blazing eye of Hatake Kakashi.

The older man had Sasuke eagle-spread, his hands pinning Sasuke's arms down in a bruising grip and his knees digging painfully into Sasuke's thighs to render him immobile.

"Too far, Sasuke!" he screamed in the sudden silence that ensued. The words echoed off of the lockers. "Too far!"

Iruka was there to aid the other boy, picking him up gently and leading him away and out of Sasuke's line of sight. Jiraiya was there as well. He herded the students away, telling them to disperse or he'd hand out a fresh batch of detention slips.

Teacher-student contact was never permitted beneath most circumstances. However, guidance counselor-student contact was encouraged. By Kakashi. He grabbed Sasuke roughly by the front of his shirt and lifted him into the air, bringing their faces close to a mere hair's breadth away.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" he yelled.

Sasuke set his face into an indifferent scowl, his eyes unwavering as he stared into Kakashi's single eye with confidence and defiance.

Without waiting for a reply, Kakashi continued. "Do you have any idea what you've just done?!"

"So I beat up a kid! So what?" Sasuke replied in a voice much lower than Kakashi's, but all venom present and accounted for.

"Did you see the condition of that kid?" Kakashi gave the Uchiha a little shake. "He needs to be picked up and helped to the nurse because he's so beaten up! You could've _killed_ him!"

Killed him.

Killed him.

Kakashi thought he'd be insane enough to kill him.

Sasuke's bloodied hands found themselves snaking to Kakashi's own shirt, all sense of teacher-student manners extinct.

"I'm not a fucking mental case anymore!"

The words echoed through the halls just as Kakashi's words had done, resounding against the walls in the deserted hallways. Sasuke's harsh breathing was the only thing that broke the heavy silence. Kakashi stared at him for a few seconds, his eye wide, before slowly releasing Sasuke. His hands fell limply to his sides.

"Come on," he told the Uchiha in a soft whisper, turning around in hopes that Sasuke would follow obediently. The Uchiha did so, picking his backpack and books from the floor before shoving his hands into his pockets as far as he could put them.

Contrary to what Sasuke thought, Kakashi did not lead him to the familiar door of the Guidance Office, or to the principal's office. They, instead, were heading to the doors of the school.

"Where are we going?" Sasuke demanded rather harshly. He was glaring at the back of Kakashi's head.

Kakashi did not stop walking. "Would you like some tea?" he asked instead, still in a soft whisper. They were in broad daylight now. Sasuke squinted his eyes against the sun.

"What are you talking about?"

The harsh tone was still there.

Kakashi led the way to a black Jeep©, the jingle of his keys rising in volume as he took them out of his pocket to unlock the car.

"What's going _on_?" Sasuke asked with more force in his voice.

Kakashi opened the door. "Get in."

"Not until you tell me what's going on, Kakashi."

Kakashi got into the first seat and started the engine, saying no more. Sasuke stood there, debating on what to do next: obey, or walk away? Kakashi was acting rather strangely, he thought.

He opened the passenger's side door and got in.

Kakashi immediately put the car into reverse and left the school's parking lot. Sasuke watched the images of the outside world pass by with indifference. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Do I get an explanation now?" he grumbled.

"Does your nose hurt?"

"Stop fucking with me." The harshness was back in his tone.

"Well, you're still bleeding, you know. Your nose, your mouth, and you've got his little cut on your temple –"

"Kakashi!"

The older man sighed, drumming his fingers along the steering wheel. "We're going to your house for a bit to get you cleaned up, and then we're going to go sit down, I'll order lunch, and we'll talk."

Sasuke turned to stare strangely at his guidance counselor. "I'm not in trouble?" He took his hands from his pockets. They were pink with the light stains of blood. "I just beat up a kid."

"Oh, you're in trouble. Two week's worth of lunch and after school detentions as I please. I might consider a suspension, maybe, but you've been absent for too long."

"So why aren't you screaming at me?"

Kakashi sighed at this, rubbing one hand over his face briefly.

"Sometimes," he said in what sounded like a defeated whisper, "I've realized screaming isn't the best way to do things."

Kakashi parked his car at the bottom of Sasuke's apartment building and exited, waiting for Sasuke to follow him. The Uchiha complied. He held his nose in his hand, tilting his head back briefly in an attempt to stem the blood flow.

"Does it hurt?" Kakashi asked to break the silence as they entered the elevator.

"No, but I have a ringing in my ears."

He could barely hear the _ding_ of the elevator when they reached his floor. Only when the doors opened to reveal several figures standing in front of his apartment door did Sasuke remember the events of the morning.

"Damn," he cursed when the cameras began flashing.

"Sir, can you tell us your relationship with Uchiha Sasuke?"

"Uchiha Sasuke, what happened?"

"Sir, please, look this way!"

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

Kakashi gently grabbed Sasuke's unoccupied wrist and led him through the reporters easily, pushing those who opposed aside. He reached into his pocket for his own set of keys, swiftly unlocked the door, pulled Sasuke inside, and closed the door once more before a reporter had the chance to enter.

The men and women on the other side of the door began to knock harshly against the wooden barrier, calling for Sasuke, for Kakashi, for someone to answer their questions.

"Get cleaned up," Kakashi told his pupil, pushing Sasuke in the direction of the bathroom. "I'll order lunch and get your first aid kit. Is Konoha Fried Chicken alright with you?"

His eyes going in and out of focus, Sasuke managed to nod and make it to the bathroom. He turned the faucet on and practically shoved the entirety of his head beneath the rushing water, wincing at the sting of his nose. The blood was washed away in pink droplets in an instant.

Kakashi was waiting for him in the living room with the first aid kit.

"You feel warmer," the man commented when his ungloved hand rested on Sasuke's face. Sasuke had no excuse. "Check your temperature."

The silver-haired man dabbed away at Sasuke's swelling lips, moving slightly when Sasuke reached for the thermometer and stuck it beneath his tongue.

"Look."

Kakashi sighed, trying to gather his words.

"I'm sorry if I seemed like I was assuming you were still mentally unstable," he finally said. He dabbed at the cut on Sasuke's temple. "I'm sorry if I overreacted."

Sasuke kept listening.

Kakashi uncovered a Band-Aid and pressed it softly to the cut he had been cleaning. "I've seen your mental growth and it's true that you're past that stage of unconsciously hurting someone. There's also something else I need to tell you."

The uncomfortable feeling of the thermometer was forgotten. Sasuke's eyes turned towards the man, finding his eyesight rather blurred, but his ears were determined to listen to what he had to say.

When Kakashi spoke, the world listened.

"I didn't want to tell you this so soon, but I doubt it'll do any better to hold it off." Kakashi sighed. "Remember my second therapy lesson? The one where you were in that room with the mirror and I told you no one was watching?"

Sasuke nodded his head slowly, unsure of where it would take him.

"Itachi and I were watching."

It took a few minutes for the words to register in Sasuke's mind. The feeling of the thermometer came back, and his mouth suddenly felt dry. Finally, the impact of the words hit the Uchiha.

He had been watching.

Watching.

Watching as Sasuke had spilled every one of his secrets, as Sasuke let out every emotion he had tried to hide, every word he had tried to keep back, as Sasuke completely broke down.

He had lied.

Sasuke wasn't sure which one of his emotions he wanted to express in the situation and so he sat in silence. He was angry. Infuriated.

"It was recorded."

Sasuke thought about why he was angry. He wasn't fuming over the fact that Itachi was watching, or that Kakashi knew all his secrets. He felt that Itachi had seen him do much worse than a simple breakdown in a room, and he knew that Kakashi, being the bizarre man he was, was bound to find out all his secrets eventually.

So why did he feel so angry?

"You lied to me."

His voice was monotonous. Ominous. He turned to stare at his mentor as he moved the thermometer to the side of his mouth, ready to repeat the words with more venom, but Kakashi put his head in his hands.

"I know," he said. "I know I lied to you, but I'm your therapist, Sasuke, and you're not exactly the easiest patient to deal with. How did you expect me to get you to reveal everything?"

"So you know everything now, right?"

"Everything."

Sasuke stood still. "You're not going to question me about it?"

"No." Kakashi straightened himself and leaned against the couch. He took the thermometer from Sasuke's mouth and lifted the Uchiha's chin a little; a trickle of blood was still flowing from his nose. "That's something we need to do when your brother is around and feeling better." He stared at the thermometer. "You know, I expected you to take that news a lot worse than you did."

Sasuke dismissed it with a shrug of his shoulders. He, himself, expected to have taken the news worse. He vaguely wondered why he wasn't throwing a punch in Kakashi's direction yet.

"What's going on with Itachi?" he asked in a nasally tone. "He's acting strange."

"Itachi has a few things going on, and he really wanted to talk to you about what he saw during your therapy lesson, but I told him not to, so he's a little angry." Kakashi's tone changed by the slightest bit. Sasuke didn't miss it. "And there's . . . something else, but I'm not the right person to tell you."

"You don't have too much to tell me, do you?"

"I can tell you your fever has risen by a degree."

"Thanks."

"Chicken's here."

_Ding dong!_

Sasuke wasn't fazed by Kakashi's sudden psychic powers. He kept his head tilted to the ceiling, willing the blood to stop rushing and his head to stop spinning. He was almost positive a bruise would show up somewhere on his face.

Kakashi closed the door on the Konoha Fried Chicken's delivery boy, the large order in his hands.

_Ding dong!_

"Hm," Kakashi hummed to no one in particular. "He must've forgotten the ketchup."

But the delivery boy was suddenly several inches shorter, blonder, and wearing a black t-shirt with neon-orange stripes. Sasuke, having his head up, did not see Naruto enter the room.

"Hey, Kakashi."

"Naruto. Pleasant not-so-surprise."

Sasuke groaned from his position to show he had acknowledged the presence of the blond, but was too lazy to turn and greet him. Naruto walked to him, no smile on his face.

"I heard about the fight," he said. "So I came to see how you were doing."

"Dandy," Sasuke replied wryly.

"So what's going to happen?"

Sasuke managed a shrug and finally returned his head to stare at Naruto. He gingerly touched his nose as he spoke. "Two weeks of detentions."

Kakashi transferred the order from his arms to the lunch table.

"Well, I'll be leaving," he said.

"Wait – what?"

"I've told you what I needed to tell you for today. That, and I have to go back to school to discuss things with the principal. I need to tell him that giving you a suspension wouldn't be the best thing in your situation."

"I should probably get going, too."

Naruto moved to stand. He was surprised when a hand suddenly grabbed his wrist. Sasuke was staring at him with emotionless eyes.

"Don't go," he said. The thought of being alone in the house drove him insane. "Please," he added when he felt too demanding.

Naruto turned to where Kakashi had already closed the door behind him.

"Sure," he said at last, taking a seat. "Who wouldn't take free food?"

He knew Sasuke realized he was staying for more reasons than for food.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke and Naruto had sat in comfortable silence for a while, neither of them feeling the need to speak to the other. After half an hour, Sasuke stood up and beckoned Naruto over to the chess board. They spent most of their time sitting opposite each other by the light trickling through the curtains.

"You should verse Shikamaru sometime in chess," Naruto commented halfway through their third game. Sasuke was winning. "That boy hasn't lost a game since ever."

"Maybe. Check."

Naruto moved out of the check. "Are you free tomorrow?"

"Detentions. Check."

"After that?"

"Maybe. Checkmate."

Naruto smiled, watching Sasuke prepare himself for another round. The silence that ensued allowed his mind to return to the last time Naruto had versed Sasuke in chess: the time Sasuke had gone into a panic attack and Naruto had been forced to give him a sedative.

Naruto swallowed hard.

Words came to his mouth that he had never thought to let out before.

"Sasuke?"

"Mm?"

The Uchiha was preoccupied with setting up the chess pieces, his face serene with the ghost of a smile on his lips.

"Can you tell me what happened? . . . In your past? You know . . . You told me once you were in a coma for six months. How did it all happen?"

Sasuke did not tense.

"I can."

Silence.

Naruto waited.

Finally, he huffed, realizing his mistake

"_May _you?"

Sasuke finished setting up the pieces and sat back, his hands falling into his lap.

"Not now, Naruto," he said quietly. "Not yet."

Silence fell upon the two once again, an awkward edge making Naruto shift uncomfortably. He understood the Uchiha's needs to keep his life a secret. Some part of him wondered why he had thought Sasuke would give him an answer in the first place.

It had been worth a try.

Probably.

Naruto tried to stay as long as he could. Long after the sun had set, he sat with the Uchiha. He had gotten used to the unnerving silence so that it no longer forced him into a state of unease, but his legs itched to move.

At nine, Sasuke could no longer ignore Naruto's shaking leg.

"You can leave any time, you know," he said evenly, his eyes moving from his homework to stare at the blond that was occupying himself with homework of his own. "I really appreciate you staying, but I know you can't for long."

Naruto flashed a sheepish smile and stopped his bouncing leg. "Sorry. I can't help it."

"Look, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

Sasuke dropped the worksheets he had been working on (he had finished half of his worksheets in an hour) and moved to open the door for the blond. Naruto followed him gratefully. No one stood outside of the Uchiha household but the neighbor's cat.

"Sorry again."

"Don't be. Bye."

Naruto wasn't sure if it was the cat, the wind, or the real thing, but he thought he heard Sasuke give a whispered thank-you as he closed the door. He shrugged it off as a figment of his overactive, hopeful imagination.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke tried to sleep at ten.

No luck.

He tried to sleep at eleven.

No luck.

Twelve o'clock came by and still, Sasuke tried to sleep without getting any results. He was afraid his insomnia had come back. He even sat in bed looking over each medication instructions to make sure they didn't have side-effects.

They didn't.

Sighing, Sasuke left his bed in favor of getting water from the kitchen. The room was unusually cold and he concluded that his fever was still haunting him.

"Sasuke?"

Itachi's voice called from the doorway.

"What are you still doing up? It's past midnight."

Sasuke watched his brother close the door and shuffle into the room. Itachi put his bag by the door, his keys on the coffee table, and he blew out the light of a nearby candle at its base.

"I couldn't sleep," Sasuke answered truthfully. "I took my medication and a few pills for my fever, but the effects won't kick in."

Itachi's cool hand was suddenly placed against his forehead. "You should be in bed. How was school?"

Sasuke repeated much of what he had told Kakashi, including the fight at the end and Naruto's stay, purposely skipping over the talk Kakashi had with him about the video. Itachi guided him to his bed as he spoke. He sat at the foot of Sasuke's feet, staring at his little brother, watching the words flow from his mouth in an angry river.

"I'm surprised you were given simple detentions."

"It's worse than a suspension! Giving me one suspension would put me out of my misery."

"My apologies for the media," Itachi added later, finally standing up and patting his brother's leg. "They do not usually come that early. It seems word had gotten out quickly of your discharge."

Sasuke shrugged it off. "Early morning workout."

Itachi turned to leave, blowing out the single candle that illuminated the room before giving a whispered parting. Sasuke didn't want him to leave so soon.

"Will you tell me?"

Itachi stopped, but did not turn around. A twitch of his ring finger on the doorframe showed he was listening.

"About why you're so depressed? Something's wrong, isn't there? Will you tell me?"

Itachi contemplated in silence for a while, wondering whether or not to tell him. But he saw Sasuke's light mood; his comfortable, neutral mood. Sasuke had been in so many dark moods, Itachi didn't want to ruin his neutral one.

He didn't want to send Sasuke to bed with bad news.

"No," he says bluntly. "I won't tell you."

And he left.

Sasuke knew it must have been bad news. Itachi told him everything.

His suspicions were only confirmed the next morning. The lack of sunlight coming through his window told Sasuke that it was too early for him to get up, but Itachi's shuffling said that it was around four a.m. The phone was ringing.

Their phone rarely rang.

"Hello?" Itachi's deep voice rang out in the silence of the house despite his whisper.

Sasuke listened idly to the conversation, trying to will himself back to sleep. He didn't think it was important; perhaps it was Kisame reminding Itachi to bring something over, or Deidara with another bizarre problem involving animals and loud noises.

But Itachi was suddenly yelling.

He'd never heard his brother yell so powerfully.

"_NO!_ _You _listen to _me! _I told you for the millionth time that if you dare touch that I will have you sued for every penny you're worth! Sir, my answer will remain unchanged!"

Sasuke shot up in bed, his eyes wide and clouded with confusion.

"Even if it takes a hundred years, I don't care! My answer will always be no!"

Silence ensued and Sasuke quickly tried to piece the conversation's subject together, but he could not come up with anything. Itachi's voice softened, but the threat was still present.

"Listen here, sir. I understand the situation. I understand the signs. But beneath no circumstances will you be allowed to go against my words to do what you please without my permission. Is that clear?"

Sasuke shivered. His brother's voice was filled with such venom that he could practically see it flowing into his room.

"I shall inform Lady Tsunade of your _pleasant_ reminder. Good day."

The phone was slammed viciously onto its cradle.

Sasuke quickly moved back into a sleeping position, knowing Itachi would probably come in to check if he had been woken. The younger Uchiha's heart was beating wildly.

What had gotten his brother so upset?

What horrible, horrible event could have wounded his brother so tightly to the point of yelling and threatening?

Uchiha Sasuke didn't get much sleep that night.

--------------------------------------------------------------

**Sazzi**, thank you for the language lesson, but I mentioned that it was Kisame who was speaking and I purposely made him butcher the language.

The next chapter is **VERY IMPORTANT** and eventful, so look forward to it!


	20. Higher

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I'd crack beneath hate mail.

**Author's Note:** Hello again, victims.

There are a lot of notes at the end of this chapter, but not so much for the beginning.

A little dab of cliche themes that I tried ultimately hard but could not get rid of. I hate it when I'm faced with cliche.

Take care of yourselves, readers. I've had a cold for a while, but it's just a cold (I think), and I've been warned not to go to school (although I wouldn't miss a day of school even if I was dying). Make sure you're staying in good health, too! Like Sasuke!

. . . Okay, bad example.

**Chapter 20  
**…**:::Higher:::…  
****Creed**

"What's up?"

Sasuke's ears exploded from the sudden question. It had been so silent in the classroom when he entered, and the halls had been filled with thick tension.

Shop class in the first period had been so silent that Sasuke first wondered who had died. Kankuro was acting rather awkwardly, stumbling over his words when he tried to tell Sasuke of the assignments he missed, but TenTen had apologized to Sasuke on Kankuro's behalf. She said it took the young teacher a while to get used to big events.

Sasuke had merely shrugged.

He didn't expect _all_ his teachers to act normal upon his return.

He now sat in Arabic, waiting for the students to trickle in one by one.

"Sasuke?"

The Uchiha in question gritted his teeth against the noise.

"Hey."

Naruto was suddenly kneeling in front of him, his sapphire eyes softened as their gaze rested on the silent teenager. His stare averted to the Band-Aid at his temple, to the bruise on his cheekbone, and back to Sasuke's dark, dark eyes.

It was the bruise that reminded everyone in the hallways of the fight that broke out yesterday, of the violent outbreak that left one boy to walk away with minor injuries and the other to be confined to bed for a day with multiple cuts and bruises.

Uchiha Sasuke had become the most feared teenager in the eleventh grade in ten minutes because of a single dollar.

He wasn't proud of the reputation he had earned for himself. His clean-cut reputation that had followed him for sixteen years had been diminished in a single semester, but at least it kept the students quiet and out of his business. . . . For now.

And so the halls had been silent as Sasuke walked through. The eyes of the students that watched him were frightful, wary, questioning, and admiring. No one dared to question him. They were afraid they would end up in the hospital. Even Naruto's friends and Sasuke's acquaintances had been oddly silent about the subject of the fight. They spoke to him like it had never happened.

Sasuke's thoughts were brought back to the blond kneeling in front of his desk, still eyeing him. The bell was due to ring in three minutes.

"What?" he bit back, flinching inwardly. He hadn't wanted to speak so harshly. Naruto thought nothing of it.

"You're just . . . silent."

Obsidian eyes shot a pointed look.

"I mean, a different silence than your usual. A depressing silence."

"Don't think too much of it," was the dismissive reply.

Naruto knew him too well, he thought, if he could differentiate between his varieties of silences.

The bell rang to signal the beginning of class and Iruka closed the door, turning around with a mild smile crinkling the scar across his nose. He greeted the students in Arabic before reverting to English.

"Homework into the inbox," he instructed. "And pencils out for the quiz."

Groans left the mouths of a majority of the class. Iruka was already handing out the quiz sheets, his smile widening slightly.

"You knew it was coming. It's easy, so don't worry too much about it. Ten points."

Sasuke was not surprised when he was called to the front of the classroom as the other students were indulged with their quizzes. Iruka had a frown on his face.

"I didn't expect that stunt from you yesterday," the man said in a whisper so no one but Sasuke could hear him. "Very out of line, Sasuke."

"Principal Sarutobi has already spoken to me of it," the Uchiha replied, trying to keep the dryness out of his voice. His eyes showed what he really wanted to say: _I've had enough badgering for one day, thank you, so keep your speech of disappointment to yourself._

Sarutobi had, indeed, taken him in when he'd arrived early and he, Sasuke, and Kakashi had had a rather solemn conversation. Sarutobi gave him the longest disappointment speech the Uchiha had ever heard, ending with the usual, "I hope I don't see this behavior from you again."

Sasuke's mind couldn't help but wander off during the speech; he was too transfixed upon the principal's perfect dentures.

_Damn, there's something stuck in them . . ._

"As for your punishment," the principal had continued, "Kakashi has spoken to me to try and relieve you of a suspension. I have agreed. However, you will be given two weeks of both lunch and after school detentions. You will be doing labor during your after school detentions, like helping teachers clean their classrooms, their chalkboards, etcetera. Is that clear?"

_"Is that clear?"_

Itachi's voice simply replayed in his head.

_"Is that clear?"_

Iruka handed him another Arabic book. Sasuke's train of thought broke from its tracks for the second time that day.

"I really think it's going to take a miracle for you to pass this semester, Sasuke."

"I'm full of miracles," Sasuke could not help but reply.

Iruka gave him a look that he could not decipher, but Sasuke thought he saw his lips twitch into an unusual smirk.

"By next week, I want you to complete all of the assignments I wrote down on the first page."

_Woohoo._

"I'll get started right away."

Health Class had never been an interest of Sasuke's from the beginning, but he thought Zabuza and his intern, Haku, did an amazing job of keeping him interesting. Zabuza laid Haku out on what looked like an operating table at the front of the room and poked and prodded him, explaining about the path of several viruses, effects, and treatments. He pointed at the Uchiha just before he left the classroom and said in his deep, ominous voice, "Test next class. Come prepared."

And that was it.

No worksheets, no pages to study; just a warning.

_Okay . . ._

The schedule restarted itself. Sasuke walked through the silent hallways to Chemistry with Naruto at his side. Sakura met them in the hallway and smiled slightly.

Someone suddenly bumped into Sasuke's shoulder. The Uchiha reeled back slightly at the contact, ready to face whoever it was, but books dropped to the floor and someone was scrambling to pick them up.

"So sorry, so sorry."

It was a girl. Sasuke couldn't place a name. She was bending low, her head bowed as she gathered her books with shaking hands. She would not look up to meet the Uchiha.

"Really, really sorry."

She practically ran away. Sasuke frowned. He wasn't happy with his reputation.

He didn't want to be feared for beating up a kid. He wanted his space to be respected. He wanted people to think of his name and think of a teenager who simply wanted to be left alone, not to think of his name as a death wish if it was uttered.

To have people run away from him felt horrible.

Really horrible.

Sasuke frowned, staring at the spot where the girl had bent down to pick her books up. Several people in the halls had stopped to stare.

"Come on, Sasuke," Naruto said to him, pushing his shoulder to try and guide him away. "They'll get over it."

"_No_, they _won't_," Sasuke retorted immediately. "High school doesn't change no matter where you are. You need your reputation to determine who you are."

He walked through the doors of Chemistry, practically slammed the folder of completed worksheets on Asuma's vacant desk, and almost tripped over Kiba's crutches.

"And my reputation crashed and burned."

Asuma entered the classroom a few minutes later. His hands went to the newly arrived folder on his desk and he raised an eyebrow, recognizing the name scrawled in the corner.

"Gave up, Uchiha?" he asked amusedly. "Too much work?"

Sasuke was too lazy to grace the man with an emotion. Asuma flipped through the several worksheets, eyes widening by the slightest millimeter. He checked, double-checked, and triple-checked to see that yes, indeed, all of the worksheets had been filled out, the answers neatly printed in blue ink that stood sharply against the white and black of the paper.

"You finished _all_ of these in a day?" the teacher asked incredulously.

"I had a lot of spare time."

Asuma finally shut his open mouth and smirked. "I'm impressed, Uchiha," he said. "Living up to –"

"Don't say it."

Sasuke's eyes finally stared ominously at Asuma, unwavering in their fierce gaze. Asuma was slightly confused.

"Don't finish that sentence. Please."

_Don't say I'm living up to the Uchiha legend._

". . . Sure thing," Asuma replied.

He felt the need to break the awkward tension that had descended, and so he did it with style. He whipped out a vacuum-sealed lamb's brain in an instant and began his lesson.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Detention number one.

Kakashi greeted Sasuke rather cheerfully in the hallways and took him by the shoulder, almost as if he was taking joy in Sasuke's punishment. He led the boy to the furthest door in the school.

It was padlocked.

"Don't worry," Kakashi said, even though Sasuke hadn't been worrying. "That's just there for show. Ibiki just likes to scare his victims."

_Victims?_

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" Sasuke said dryly as the older man reached for the doorknob.

"Every minute of it."

Sasuke didn't remember hearing about an 'Ibiki', nor did he remember seeing a teacher he could not name, and so he was rather surprised at the appearance of the so-called Disciplinary Director. The man had not a single hair on his head, but rather scars and painful-looking burns, stitches, _holes_, and cuts galore. His face had only one expression: merciless.

"Uchiha Sasuke," he said in a monotonous voice that could match Itachi's with indifference.

Ibiki did not move from his position behind his desk. Sasuke expected him to pull out a pistol from his long obsidian trench coat and fire, diving for the floor and then screaming, "Matrix!" **[1] **Yet silence continued to reign.

"I'll be back to pick up what's left of him after lunch," Kakashi said.

Ibiki nodded, his eyes lambent and taunting before they turned to the Uchiha. He pointed to the first seat directly in front of him. The classroom was entirely empty.

"Sit there with no supplies. Lunch ends in thirty-nine minutes and forty-six seconds."

He hadn't even looked at a clock.

"I can't even have a piece of paper to doodle on?" asked Sasuke with mild incredulousness, his eyebrows rising.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Nothing."

Sasuke sat, sighing inwardly. He didn't dare look at the clock. He had been in detention only twice before and remembered the unpleasant _tick tock tick tock_ of the clock that seemed to stay on the same numbers for hours.

Ibiki stared at Sasuke, his eyes trying to penetrate his stubborn exterior. Sasuke stared at him without blinking; a challenge.

"Been in detention before, Uchiha?"

"Tw–"

"I didn't ask you to speak," Ibiki immediately cut in, his voice sharp and leveled.

"But you asked –"

"I am aware of what I have said, thank you. It was a rhetorical question."

Sasuke clenched his teeth against the sarcasm and comments trying to force their way from his mouth. He gave the nastiest, most devilish look his recovering body could muster. Ibiki merely sat down at the front desk and picked up a book. Sasuke's eyes caught the title:

_My Little Pony._

He hoped it was a codename for a missile or something of the sort.

"I've been in this business a long time, Uchiha," he said dismissively. "And while your eyes are the most convincing of any student I've seen so far, I doubt my murder is possible."

"My freedoms as stated by the mayor give me a right to try, I suppose," Sasuke said, trying to keep his mouth from twitching into a smirk.

"Don't take those freedoms too liberally."

"Don't take them too radically."

Ibiki's scarred face crinkled with the broadness of his smirk. "I like you kid. Now shut up. You're in detention."

Sasuke settled back into his seat, content. His eyes, however, accidentally dwelled upon the demonic clock right behind the front desk.

Thirty-three minutes left.

_Damn._

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

It was raining.

Sasuke could tell because Naruto shook his head of wet hair in his general direction when he entered, grinning. Kiba was complaining about his lack of a waterproof cast.

"So how was detention with Ibiki?" Naruto asked in a teasing tone as he sat backwards on his chair in front of the Uchiha.

"He reads My Little Pony," was the amused reply.

"Oh man, I love that series!" exclaimed Kiba suddenly. "The first book was amazing!"

"I know, right?" said Naruto. "Especially that first scene!"

Sasuke could not help the look on his face that clearly said: _you have _got_ to be kidding me._

"What's this book about, exactly?" he asked slowly, as if he was afraid of finding out.

Jiraiya called for attention, cutting off the triangular conversation. Sasuke would never know the plot of the book. He thought it was, perhaps, best that way.

He felt that he was actually looking forward to the detentions where he wouldn't have to be stuck in the same room as the man who he assumed had once been involved with a secret police of some sort.

Kakashi was waiting outside of the Psychology classroom when the final bell rang. His face was solemn and he motioned for Sasuke to follow him.

"Hey, tell me if you're free, okay?" Naruto called to Sasuke as the watched mentor and student walk away. Sasuke nodded in reply.

"So what's my first order of duty?" asked Sasuke, fixing his backpack over one shoulder.

"We need to talk."

Sasuke was slightly taken aback at the sharp collapse of the light, positive air. Everything seemed to darken into a somber tone. The rain did no justice. Kakashi led him outside to the parking lot.

Sasuke found a numbing comfort in the harshly peppering droplets of water as he waited for Kakashi to unlock the car.

"What happened to my detention?"

"Cancelled."

"Where are we going?"

"To your house."

Sasuke felt uneasy at the darkened mood. He shifted several times in his seat on the drive home, looking out the window to where the rain continued to pound mercilessly against everything beneath the ominous clouds.

The media was absent.

Itachi was not.

He was the one that indifferently opened the battered door to them. A few candles were lit for both warmth and dim lighting.

"Why do I have a feeling something bad is going on?"

"No, no, don't worry," Kakashi assured him. "This might be really beneficial."

"You say that about a lot of unhelpful things."

"I am hoping your school day went rather blandly, Sasuke," said Itachi. He sat on the couch and motioned for his brother to sit as well.

"Why?"

"Because what we're about to discuss won't make it any greater."

Sasuke was officially at unrest. He sat down and stared from one older man to the next, his eyes silently demanding answers. Only when Kakashi had made himself comfortable in a separate armchair did Itachi finally address his younger brother.

"Kakashi told me he's spoken to you of the videoed therapy session," he said. Sasuke stiffened. "And he assured me that it has come to the right moment to discuss it."

"There's nothing to discuss," snapped Sasuke.

Kakashi was suddenly fondling a long piece of paper in both his hands. "Actually, there _is._" He showed the side scribbled with notes to his student. "I've seen the video again and made note of what needed to be addressed."

"I think I'd rather have that detention right about now," said Sasuke, only half-joking.

"I don't intend to take this conversation lightly, Sasuke. I've seen that video. I know what bothers you, and you've got so many things backwards that need to be cleared up or else you'll never get any further with therapy."

Itachi sat formally, his legs uncrossed and touching the floor and his back stiffly erect. Sasuke stared back at him from a casual, relaxed position.

"Things backwards?" he said quietly, his tone formal despite his leisurely posture. "I assure you, Itachi, I have _everything_ set out straight. The only thing that hinders my therapy is this society."

Had he turned around, he would have seen Kakashi shift his bag on the floor to hide the sedation needles that had been peeking out of the main pocket.

"Then tell me, Sasuke," Itachi said slowly, reluctantly. He took in a deep breath, almost afraid of the reaction he would get. "Why did Father commit suicide?"

Silence hung thickly in the air. Sasuke's mind was instantly on its way to the past where his nightmares reigned with iron fists and words buzzed around his head with more annoyance than a fly.

His father's words echoed in his mind like a somber poet reciting his poem in the darkness of a jazz café. Mantras after mantra, wish after wish, insult after insult, Uchiha Fugaku's words were all that filled his son's mind.

_Worthless._

_To die._

_Pathetic._

_Die._

A warm hand touched his shoulder and he jerked back violently before realizing it was Itachi who was leaning in front of him. Sasuke found that his own hand was gripping his shirt just above his heart.

"You said it was because you were worthless," Itachi whispered to him. "You kept saying that before. You asked me if you were pathetic. Is that really why you thought he killed himself?"

Sasuke's mouth found words and remembered how to use them again.

"Don't deny the truth, Itachi. I can take knowing I was the fault of everything."

Itachi squeezed his shoulder. "Don't tell me lies, Sasuke. Remember your first therapy lessons? Remember we asked you what had happened when you were in that car with him? Did you tell us _everything?_ Ever detail? Every word Father said?"

Sasuke stopped.

No, he hadn't.

He remembered sitting in the comforts of Kakashi's house and speaking in a monotonous, lifeless tone about the accident. He remembered telling Itachi, Kakashi, and Mikoto about every detail, but he had generalized Fugaku's words. He had simply said he had been talking about the empire and about dying.

He didn't remember why he had generalized the words. Perhaps he had had a good reason at the time – fed up with speaking? not wanting to reenter nightmares? –, but the Uchiha Sasuke that sat in the living room at that very moment suddenly found himself feeling very foolish.

Sasuke gathered his feet to his chest on the couch as if his stomach was in pain and scrunched his face in remembrance.

"You mean there were _more_ details?" Itachi suddenly exclaimed. "And you kept them hidden for so long?"

"What did he say, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked with utmost seriousness.

Sasuke stayed silent, trying not to remember.

"Sasuke, what did he _say_?"

Sasuke was suddenly strapped to the seat of a car with a seatbelt that just _wouldn't come off_. Kakashi and Itachi, who were watching from outside of Sasuke's memories, saw the peculiar sight affront of them. Sasuke was staring blankly ahead, eyes wide, his slender hands scrambling for something imaginary at the side of his hip.

"No, Sasuke, come on," his brother warned. Itachi grabbed Sasuke's shoulders. "Don't do this now. We need to finish this."

"Dad, stop the car!"

His fingers clawed for the invisible seatbelt.

"Dad! Dad, stop!"

_SLAP!_

Sasuke's face jerked to the side with the force of Kakashi's hand, officially silenced. His face stayed in that position for a while. Itachi stared at the older man with slight shock on his features.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke," he said sincerely. "I just don't want to have you sedated right now."

Sasuke shook his head, his teeth clenching. Kakashi's hit had been rather hard, but the man had given him mercy and had purposely brought his hand upon the side with_out_ the bruise.

The Uchiha was angry with himself.

He hadn't wanted to end up in such a state again. He thought he had gotten over his trauma and his panic attacks. He thought he had been trying so hard to suppress such insanity. How _dare _he allow his mind to revert to such an unsightly position and force Kakashi to touch him again? Perhaps furthering therapy would do him more good than harm.

"Come on, Sasuke," Itachi urged softly. "What did he say about you?"

Every word spilled from his mouth in monotone without the slightest waver or hint of hesitance. Sasuke told it all in perfect detail, his mind still replaying the introduction of his horror movie.

"Worthless," he repeated his father's words with frightening accuracy. "You're worthless. Everything's worthless. Everything's wrong, so very wrong, and so very right, wrong, right, wrong . . . Pathetic . . . You'll die, and I'll die, and we'll all die, and live happily ever after in hell."

Itachi was at loss of words. His father's biting language surprised him.

"He said that?" he asked despite knowing the answer. Sasuke nodded his head absently anyway. Itachi's demeanor was marred with rage. "He said that to you?"

Kakashi thought it explained so much. His mind followed Sasuke's down Memory Lane to the day Sasuke collapsed into his office, asking if he was pathetic, to the days when Sasuke would chant the mantra of worthlessness and self blame.

"Sasuke, you aren't the reason for his suicide," Itachi whispered to his brother. "He just wasn't in the right state of mind and you just happened to be there with him. Don't think you did everything."

"There's no other possible explanation for it, Itachi. Stop trying to fool yourself."

"You're the one that's fooling yourself," Itachi all but snapped back. "I want you to listen carefully."

Sasuke sat down, taking in deep breaths to calm his mind and willing away all previous memories. He stared at his brother, ready. Itachi resumed his position on the couch and silence ensued for several seconds before Itachi's lips moved to form words.

"There was a murder amongst the Uzumakis," he began. "I am sure you are quite familiar with it. Naruto's father, Namikaze Minato, had been assassinated several years ago."

Sasuke found it rather hard to swallow. A fleeting flash of the fight he had had with Naruto at the beginning of the semester came to mind. Kakashi took note of the teenager's changing expressions.

"Two months prior to your accident, a reporter had made a surprising revelation. There were links from the murder to our very own empire."

"He told me that," Sasuke whispered. "Naruto did. I remember. And he said Dad was the one that . . ."He trailed off into silence.

"The media immediately became interested," Itachi continued for him. "They looked deeper into the assassination. Rumors were brought up, and amongst them was one that Father had been the one to murder Minato."

Yes, Sasuke remembered that. He shuddered inwardly. The thought of his very own father with blood in his hands terrified him in a way he could not explain.

"The rumor was so strong that many people began to believe it. Companies began to sever ties with our empire. Some of them withdrew their investments. We were losing money quickly."

Sasuke drew in a sharp breath. He didn't like the way things were connecting in his mind. Itachi's words were the missing puzzle pieces to the biggest picture of all.

"Several company managers confirmed that it was, in fact, Father who had been the murderer, even though they had no evidence. Everyone that was involved in the Uchiha Empire dropped out. Father was getting a bad name that forever stained his reputation, and his own police force was keeping too watchful an eye on him."

Sasuke's mind pushed the last piece of the puzzle into place and he stood back to stare at the picture in horror.

_"Everything in this world is pathetic! No money! No nothing! Everyone is in_competent!_ Losers, incompetence, fucking good-for-nothing maintenance –_"

No money.

No money.

Itachi didn't have to explain the rest to Sasuke. The younger Uchiha knew. He knew his of his father's greed. He knew of his father's lifestyle. He knew what Uchiha Fugaku's world revolved around, and his sun was money.

No money.

Money.

Money.

Uchiha Fugaku had committed suicide because he had lost all of his money.

Sasuke laughed. His mouth emitted a bitter sound and he leaned forward to put his head in his hands, his shoulders shaking from laughter. Itachi and Kakashi, however, did not miss the unmistakable contortion of sour mirth and choked sobs.

His father had been worthless himself, Sasuke thought. He had died for possessions. He hadn't lived for the sake of family. And if a man could not live for his family, he was more worthless than dirt.

More worthless than he believed his youngest son to be.

The older men in the room gave Sasuke a few minutes of silence. They exchanged glances with each other, neither of them sure which emotion to express.

Sasuke, however, could still not wrap his mind completely around the situation. He didn't know whether to hit himself, to whoop in joy, or to snarl in anger. His hands moved from his flushed face to his hair, where his fingers gripped his charcoal locks masochistically.

"You weren't the reason for his suicide," Itachi repeated, his voice barely audible. "You aren't the fault for anything, Sasuke. Not Father, not Mother, not me. Nothing."

His own mind was replaying Sasuke's therapy lesson, trying to remember points he had missed.

"Don't try to make everyone happy, Sasuke," Kakashi continued for him. "You'll only end up hurting yourself. You need to get your life together first before you can attempt to fix someone else's."

"Forget the Uchiha legend."

Itachi's eyes were firmly staring at his brother, who had yet to turn to look at him and remove his hair from his hands.

"The Uchiha legend is nothing but a silly title made by our ancestors. And now that they're no longer living – Father included –, it has died with them."

Sasuke didn't move.

_It's not me_, he tried repeating in his mind, hoping he would finally comprehend it completely. _It's not my fault. _Yet, despite how many times he muttered it, despite how many times he tried to push himself to elation, he still couldn't bring himself to take it in. He couldn't bring himself to end all of his troubled memories and all of his present troubles with a single, five-minute explanation.

His life had been patched with five minutes of words.

Five minutes. **[2]**

No way. No way could the problem have been that simplistic. If he had just told them the complete details from the start, he would have saved himself months worth of stress. Had he simply uttered a few extra explanations . . .

Kakashi touched his chin, gently pushing it up so that the Uchiha stared into his single eye.

"How do you feel?" asked the therapist.

"I don't know," his patient replied sincerely. "I . . . don't know."

Kakashi's eyes crinkled slightly. "I think with a little bit of time, you'll be fine," he said. He turned to Itachi, frowning almost immediately at the last bit of news that almost escaped his mind. Itachi gave him a questioning glance, but Kakashi nodded.

"All in one go," he offered as an explanation, "so no more sorrows can follow."

Itachi obeyed.

"Sasuke?" he spoke up once more. "There's one last thing to tell you before I leave you alone, okay?"

Sasuke nodded, but did not stare at his brother. His head was back in his hands.

Itachi had some difficulty bringing the words out and Kakashi was offering no assistance. After a few moments of stillness, the words came to him in an instant and he scrambled for them before they could slip away.

"You asked me what was wrong," he began. "I have been receiving several calls from the doctors in England."

Sasuke's head jerked up at once.

Too many memories were entering his head. This time, Itachi's angry, yelling, threatening voice reverberated in his mind. His heart was suddenly pounding fiercely in his chest.

"They told me Mother . . ."

He paused, breathing deeply.

"They said she hasn't responded to most of the tests they've conducted on her," he said at last. "And they wanted to turn off her life support." **[3]**

"No!"

Sasuke was on his feet immediately, surprise and anger battling with his emotions as his heart threatened to explode from his chest.

"I told them not to," Itachi said quickly with equal passion. "I told them _never_ to, Sasuke! But I don't want to keep news like this from you. This is Mother's condition at the moment and there is nothing we can do."

"We're miracle workers, Itachi," Sasuke retorted in a hiss, vaguely disliking his use of words. His hidden optimism seeped out slowly. "We've survived practically everything. There's no reason Mom shouldn't."

Itachi was silent. Kakashi watched Sasuke with overwhelming admiration. It looked as if his student had grown several inches in mind rather than height.

"Tests are silly," he concluded quietly. "Mom doesn't need to prove herself through tests. She just needs a little time to think of the answers. You'll see."

Yet he couldn't help the devastating depression that washed over him and he feared his shoulders were visibly shaking. He turned around.

"May I take a walk?" he asked in barely a whisper.

"It's raining outside, Sasuke."

"To Naruto's house," he replied to his brother's concerns, thinking briefly about the decision.

Itachi turned to Kakashi for help. Kakashi's gaze told him not to worry; he didn't believe Sasuke would do anything irrational.

"You don't want to be dropped off?"

"No, just a walk. To think," he added.

Itachi frowned. They didn't own an umbrella. Naruto's house wasn't too far away, but Sasuke still had his fever, and his leg wasn't exactly fit for wet weather.

"I'll be fine," Sasuke emphasized, still not turning around. "May I?"

Itachi sighed. The jealous brotherly part of him wished Sasuke would stay and talk with him instead of heading to Naruto, but the reasonable brotherly part told him to let Sasuke do what he thought was best for himself.

"Yeah," he said at last. "Okay. But be careful."

Sasuke nodded, turned the doorknob, stepped out, and disappeared.

Kakashi blew out a sigh of relief the second the door close and he turned to stare at Itachi. "You think we did the right thing?" he asked.

". . . Yeah," Itachi said after a few seconds of thought. "Yeah, I think we did."

"I think we did, too."

"You really think he'll be alright?"

Kakashi smirked and sat back, the commercial ad for Konoha Fried Chicken going through his head briefly before he gave his answer.

"Sasuke said it himself, didn't he? He's a miracle worker."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Naruto frowned as he saw his reflection flicker against the window of his room. The rain had turned the sky dark and hid the sun away. No one would go outside and so he was stuck in his room without the slightest bit of company. Tsunade wasn't due back from the hospital for another two hours and Kimiko, the only other occupant in the house for the day, was busy working in the living room.

Naruto sighed and returned to his bed.

"This sucks," he could not help but utter.

Some people loved the rain, he thought, but he didn't. Some people loved to walk in the rain, to dance in the rain, to kiss, to sing, to sleep in the rain, but Naruto hated it. The sun left. Reality turned morbid.

Besides, the clouds were simply taking one long piss on the Earth, anyway. How nice could that possibly be?

He sighed for the umpteenth time and stared at his ceiling.

"This _really_ sucks."

He barely heard the doorbell ring through the pounding of the rain, but it was still distinct in his mind. He shot up from the bed and perked his ears to listen for who it would turn out to be. He heard Kimiko give a slight gasp.

"Oh, Sasuke!" she said, a hint of surprise in her casual voice.

Naruto immediately ran for the stairs.

"You're completely drenched!" Kimiko continued. "Come in, come in!"

"Is Naruto here?" came Sasuke's tired voice.

Naruto appeared at the top of the stairs, right on cue. His eyebrows were raised in surprise as well.

"What the heck are you doing here?"

Sasuke looked about ready to collapse. Naruto made it down the stairs in record-breaking time and stood affront of the taller boy, observing him closely for any hints of a new bruise or cut, but there was nothing. His dark clothes were simply sticking to his body like a second skin and his hair was splayed over his face.

"Naruto, please help him to your room." Kimiko shut the door on the merciless rain. "I'll bring towels and a change of clothes up."

"Yeah," Naruto replied, still transfixed upon the Uchiha as Kimiko shuffled away. "Come on. Do you need help?"

Sasuke shook his head. Naruto saw his eyes would go out of focus for a swift instance, and h seemed to be in a permanent trance-like state; the blond hoped he wasn't drunk. The Uchiha leaned heavily against the railing of the stairs as the two boys trekked to Naruto's room.

Naruto did not feel conversation was fitting until Sasuke got settled and he was silent, listening to Sasuke's deep breathing and the _squeak, squish_ his soaking shoes made against the tiles. The blond continued on. The house was silent.

Silent.

Silence.

The _squeak, squish_ had stopped. Naruto turned around just in time to see Sasuke begin to sway and fall backwards, his knees buckling.

"Sasuke!"

In a desperate attempt to keep Sasuke from falling backwards on the stairs, Naruto seized the front of his shirt and wrenched him forwards. The two boys went toppling to the ground at the top of the stairs. Sasuke had begun to shiver.

Naruto scrambled to his feet. "Okay, alright, upsy daisy," he said anxiously, trying to lift the weak Sasuke upright. "We're almost there."

Sasuke managed on his own two feet, but Naruto lent him a supporting shoulder for extra precaution. The Uchiha was beginning to grow limp. Naruto was forced to lend more and more support until he was practically dragging the older teenager to the bed.

Naruto knew Sasuke was in danger of getting a high fever again, but he could not find the right way to tell the Uchiha to strip himself of his clothes. He thought up several combinations in his head, all of them sounding dirty, or demanding, or just plain awkward.

Finally, he said, "You'll get sick if you keep those clothes on, so just take them off until Kimiko comes with the towels."

Sasuke silently obeyed without a second thought from where he lay on the bed. Without sitting up, his hands reached for the hem of his shirt and barely managed to pull it over his head. He didn't feel like protesting, especially against Naruto who would most probably wrench the shirt off of Sasuke's own body if the Uchiha refused.

Kimiko knocked at the door, not wanting to invade Sasuke's privacy. Naruto greeted her and thanked her for what she brought, and she left with the promise to bring up hot chocolate. Naruto turned around to find that Sasuke had already stripped down to his boxers and was spread flatly on the bed, his thin chest moving up and down quickly.

The blond could not help but stare at Sasuke's scarred body. His lean form was returning, but scars marred his chest and legs. A black strip of spandex covered his prosthetic leg; he recognized it as the waterproof material Tsunade gave her patients when they needed to cover up a certain wound or bandage.

Naruto made his way to Sasuke with the group of towels in hands and sweatpants and a white shirt hanging over his shoulder. Sasuke took one of the towels gratefully and immediately wrapped it around his shivering torso.

"Any particular reason you decided to show up at my house in the middle of a rain storm completely soaked?"

Sasuke took his time drying his hair, his eyes staring at the yellowish ceiling of the room, unsure of what to say. Naruto took his silence as defiance.

"Okay, I guess a random visit is nice," he said, sitting down at his desk. He could not help his foot bouncing in worry.

He watched Sasuke pull the new clothing on and neatly fold the towels he had used, keeping one over his hair. The clothes hung loosely off of his thin frame.

"Are you hungry?" Naruto tried again. "Do you need medicine? Anything?"

"I'm fine, Naruto," Sasuke finally spoke, but his feeble voice contradicted his words. He sat up at last.

"Sorry . . ."

Obsidian eyes flickered with amusement for a brief second before depression and weariness overwhelmed their depths.

"You have a bad habit of apologizing."

Naruto gave a sheepish smile as he watched Sasuke lean into the bed's pillows. "So what are you really doing here?"

Sasuke's hands reached for a pillow and he absently played with it, staring at the ceiling through blurry vision as he said, "I had a talk with Kakashi and my brother."

"Ah."

"Yeah."

Silence.

Sasuke stopped playing with the pillow for a few seconds, his eyes still transfixed on the yellow paint.

"Naruto? Remember you wanted to know?"

"About what?"

"About what happened to me."

"Yeah, I did."

Sasuke did not hesitate and the words ran smoothly from his mouth:

"I can tell you now."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Speechless.

It was what Naruto was as he sat and listened to Sasuke beginning his story. At first, Naruto had felt rather enlightened. Uchiha Sasuke, King of Privacy and Hidden Emotions, had actually come to the strongest point of trust with the blond that he felt compelled to tell him of what had happened.

_"The bridge was coming closer, and the seatbelt wasn't coming off, but we were moving too fast anyway. I was going to die either way. He was insane, and I was scared. So scared."_

However, as Naruto continued to listen, his heart began to feel heavy and he thought that maybe ignorance was bliss and he was better off not knowing.

_"The next thing I know, I'm waking up in the hospital, pain all over my body, my left leg gone, and Itachi telling me I just came out of a six-month coma."_

And perhaps the worst thing of all, the one thing that made Naruto feel the saddest – although he couldn't quite fathom why – was that Sasuke recalled every memory, every moment, every nightmare with the same monotonous, indifferent voice.

"And then Kakashi and Itachi talked to me today about what really caused Dad's suicide," Sasuke continued after he had finished the majority of his recollections to the immobile Naruto. The pillow that he had been playing with in his hands had become rumpled from the bruising grasp he placed it beneath.

He elaborated on his father's death for a short moment before he silenced for a few seconds. Naruto knew he wasn't done. He waited, his mind spinning violently from the information he had been told.

Sasuke never hesitated to continue. Never. He did not stop and think if he was doing the right thing. His mouth simply opened and his voice box simply complied to the need for speech, to the need to tell someone of the events so that he, himself, could listen to them one more time to allow them to sink in.

"And Mom isn't responding to the tests they gave her over in England," the Uchiha finally whispered. The pillow fell limply from his grasp. "And they were going to take her off of life support. . . . But Itachi said no. We won't."

That ended his story.

That ended the hour-long, one-sided conversation.

Naruto didn't know how to snap from his speechless stupor. He didn't know what to comment with. He didn't know whether to apologize, or to cry, or to tell Sasuke to hang in there. He _did_ know Uchiha Sasuke was almost done breaking down inside.

". . . How do you feel now?" the blond chose to ask after a familiar silence.

"Kakashi asked the same thing," Sasuke was quick to reply.

"And what did you say?"

"I said I didn't know."

"How about now?"

Sasuke sunk further into the pillows, allowing his hands to rest flaccidly at his sides.

". . . Better," he whispered. "Less confused."

Sasuke felt the bed sink in one corner. He looked to find Naruto sitting on the edge, a slight smile adorning his face as he stared at nothing in particular with the most expressionless eyes the Uchiha had ever seen him with.

"Good," the blond spoke. "That's good." He didn't know how to continue, so he simply said, "Thanks."

Sasuke tried to sit up, but failed. "For what?" he asked in puzzlement.

"For trusting me enough to tell me everything."

The customary silence followed, courtesy of a certain Uchiha, but he chose to end it shortly this time around. He stared at the blond, waiting for sapphire eyes to meet his own. When they did, he spoke.

"Now I get to thank you. For being there to listen." He added, with an intention of wit, "And for not overreacting."

Naruto smiled.

Sasuke thought something looked off.

"You're welcome."

As Naruto watched Sasuke close his eyes, his smile began to fade. He excused himself to head into the bathroom. Sasuke didn't object.

Naruto locked the door.

His back slid against the wooden barrier until he reached the floor, thoughts crowding his mind. He pulled his feet tightly to his chest. Sasuke's own life replayed through Naruto's mind, as if Naruto was the one experiencing it.

Suicidal father, over the bridge, waking up in the hospital without a leg . . .

Naruto closed his eyes and leaned back against the door. He regretted asking the Uchiha to tell him everything. He regretted finding out about his past.

Things made sense, though. The links clicked in his mind as he connected the newfound information with previous events. He knew why Sasuke was afraid of Bentleys, and why Kakashi had told him to keep away from bridges or large bodies of water. And he knew why Sasuke's mind worked the way it did.

But Naruto didn't know how Sasuke could keep it inside of him. Simply knowing made the blond want to scream. The mere knowledge of what had happened sent his mind into a clutter of confusion and he shook his head viciously in an attempt to clear his thoughts.

It had been in the past, right?

And Sasuke had been able to get over it, right?

All the Uchiha needed was a bit of rest, Naruto thought. A little rest, a little time to think, and he'll be almost as good as new.

Right?

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"He told you everything?"

"Everything."

_"Everything?"_

"Yes, Granny. Everything."

Tsunade had come home to the news that there was an Uchiha asleep in her house. She now stood over him, checking him over as Naruto told her what had happened.

"Was he drunk?"

Naruto gave her a pointed look. "He doesn't have to be drunk to tell me things," he said flatly.

Tsunade smirked slightly as she opened Sasuke's eyelids. "It's just odd for him to do such a thing. I didn't think he'd ever trust you enough."

"Gee, thanks."

"Well, this just means he's taken a large leap." She frowned, her hand resting on Sasuke's forehead. "His temperature is high again."

"But not influenza-high, is it?"

"I don't know. Can you fetch a thermometer for me? I need to call Itachi."

Naruto did as he was told, returning to find Tsunade in conversation over the phone and Sasuke beneath the bed covers. Tsunade took the thermometer gratefully as she continued to speak to Itachi and stuck the mercury stick into Sasuke's mouth.

"Yes, his fever has risen to a hundred one degrees," she told Itachi. "He probably stayed out in the rain for a long time before coming here. Alright. Okay. I will."

"What? What?" Naruto immediately asked the minute Tsunade put the phone down.

"Relax, Naruto." She stood up, moving to tighten the blankets around Sasuke. "He's going to be sleeping over, if that's okay with you. Itachi's bringing some things here and Sasuke will go to school with you in the morning if he's feeling better."

Naruto nodded his head absently. "Yeah, that's fine with me. Are you sure he won't go back to the hospital because of his fever?"

Tsunade smirked and turned back to ruffle his hair affectionately. "Brat, you worry too much."

"I apologize too much, too," Naruto added dryly.

"Sasuke's immune system just needs building up, so it's pretty vulnerable to things like a common cold or a fever, but it won't escalate, so no worries, right?"

"Right."

"Good. Now you can be the one to wake him up."

"What?!"

Tsunade scoffed. "_I'm_ not getting my head bitten off! I need him to be awake so he can take some medicine before he goes into complete sleep."

"So you throw _me_ to the wolves?"

"He's not a wolf, brat. It's rude to call people names."

"I hate you."

"Careful. I might fall up to Heaven."

Tsunade pretended to make air quotes with her fingers at the phrase. Naruto grumbled.

"Are you making fun of me?"

"Just wake him up before Itachi comes over."

Naruto turned around, his expression growing somber. He tried not to think too much about falling up to Heaven with Sasuke in such a state.

---------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] "Matrix!": **Oh, come on. Don't tell me you've never thought of that. Am I the only one?

**[2] Five minutes: **I like how I can make my characters make fun of what I write, like Sasuke being angry that all his troubles disappeared in five minutes of conversation. I was rather mad as well when I realized how it had turned out. There was just no other way to put it. I couldn't do it gradually, because why the heck would I do that?

I wanted to continue with this section of angst, but I felt it was time. Twenty chapters is enough, I think.

**[3] Mikoto's condition: **Whoa! I'm amazed at the amount of people that were able to guess correctly as to what was wrong! Talk about thinking outside the box! (Or, you know, logical predictions)

**NO, this is NOT the end of angst!**


	21. What Happens Tomorrow

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I'd be swallowed with work.

**Author's Note**:Back with another chapter! And still being consumed with work, but I love this story too much to let it go.

I have a **_lot_** of notes in this story, so please, bear with me. The main thing will be addressed here.

**Regarding "Falling Up to Heaven":** I'm rather surprised at the amount of people that thought the ending of my last chapter was the first reference I'd made to the phrase. To all those who don't remember the phrase, please refer to **Chapter 8.**

Remember when Naruto and Sasuke were playing instruments together? Naruto had this song, and this phrase was a key point in the song. He even goes on to explain what it means, so to save space, I really suggest readers read that section once more.

The main impact I want with this phrase doesn't happen until later in the story. For now, I'm just making little random references to it here and there. It will play a major role later on.

Sorry for any confusion! I guess since it was such a subtle mentioning, people didn't remember it. Message me if there is still a few areas of confusion!

And thank you!

**Chapter 21  
**…**:::What Happens Tomorrow:::…  
****Duran Duran**

**Note: Very important Author's Note. Please read if you haven't done so already.**

"His fever's not entirely better, but I guess it's up to him to decide whether or not he wants to go to school."

"He'll definitely go."

"I wouldn't recommend it."

"He'll go."

Obsidian eyes fluttered open to the sound of familiar voices and an aching body sat up. Uchiha Sasuke had made his consciousness known. The two blonds occupying the room turned to him simultaneously, and one of them smiled sheepishly.

"Did we wake you up with our voices?"

"_Our_ voices? _You're_ the loud one, brat."

Sasuke cut the argument short with his dismissive answer of "I'm a light sleeper." He pushed himself further into an upright position and leaned forward slightly, stretching his arms and craning his neck.

"Are you feeling fine?"

_No._

"If you're wondering whether or not I'm going to school, I will be."

"Ha!" Naruto exclaimed triumphantly to his grandmother as Sasuke slid from the covers and swung his legs over the bed. Tsunade flicked him on the forehead before turning back to the only brunette.

"Itachi dropped your things off for the day," she said. "So take a shower and come downstairs. I have medicine to give you."

Sasuke grimaced, but not another word left his mouth. He silently excused himself from the room and entered the bathroom he remembered from his previous stay over Naruto's house. The mentioned blond, he noticed, was already dressed and sparkling with energy.

The shower in the Uzumaki household was much more refreshing and merciful against his body as opposed to the freezing water he had had to use back at his apartment. He stood beneath the scalding cascade of droplets for several minutes before emerging with his entire body tinged pink from fever and hot water.

Flashes of the talks held yesterday went through his mind as he stood in the silent bathroom.

_So everything's out in the open_, he thought, grimacing. He tested himself briefly. _Nope . . . I still can't get over it. No way._

_And was telling Naruto everything really the right decision?_

_Why is everyone acting like nothing happened?_

He frowned, thinking about how he had expected them to react to everything. He didn't remember what Naruto had done, but the blond certainly seemed brilliantly happy. Perhaps he was hiding something?

Clad in the simple clothing Itachi had brought, Sasuke sat at the dining table and stared at the unusual amount of food in front of him. A plate had already been prepared for him, filled with scrambled eggs, hash browns, fruit, and pancakes. He raised a slender eyebrow.

"You actually eat _all_ of this on a regular basis?" his mellow voice said to Naruto's ears.

Naruto had already eaten most of his pancakes and was guzzling down a glass of apple juice. "Not really, but Granny wants to try and get you to eat, so she put out a lot of food."

Sasuke didn't think his stomach could handle all of the food. He picked at his eggs for a few seconds before finally taking a bite. His mouth chewed slowly to give him enough energy for his brain to think of how he wanted to word a particular question.

"Naruto," he began slowly. "Did I tell you everything about my life last night?"

Naruto stopped eating and eyed the Uchiha. ". . . Yeah," he said hesitantly. Bad memories were returning to him. "Yeah, you did. Everything."

"Oh."

Silence.

"Did you really mean to tell me, or was that an accident?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "It's not like I was drunk or anything," he said (to which Naruto muttered, "You could've fooled me."). "I'm not entirely sure why I said everything, anyway."

"Well you did."

"Good."

Surprised at the response, Naruto raised his head, but Sasuke had returned to his eggs once more just as Tsunade entered with a bottle of pills to interrupt their strange conversation.

"Eat, or I'll force it down your throat," she said affectionately.

"You have a lovely way with words."

"So I've been told."

She put the bottle in front of him before sitting down to eat herself, gathering fruit onto her plate. Sasuke wondered if she was watching her figure. After a few moments of staring at her, he amused himself by mentally commenting that she had no figure to watch in the first place.

He swallowed a single pill, eyeing Naruto from over the rim of the glass.

"Any plans today?" asked Naruto. "Are you coming to the after school practice for the marathon?"

Sasuke grimaced. "Detention," he said, the word foreign on his tongue. "Lunch, and I'm guessing after school."

"Oh."

Naruto felt that the silence was killed with a butter knife. He looked down awkwardly at his plate. Tsunade saved the boys from silence by quickly shooing them from the house after they had eaten a decent meal. The two of them would be driven to school; Sasuke had been ready to rebel, but a quick glance at the clock had him pushing Naruto into the seat of the Mercedes®.

The media was absent and to Sasuke's rising amusement, they were probably still waiting for him to open the door to his own apartment.

The two teenagers made it through the door of the English classroom with seconds to spare before Kurenai shut the door with a bump of her hip. Sasuke had nothing completed to give her having not had time the day before to get any of the reading done. He simply sat in class, listening to the discussion and taking mental notes in his long-term memory.

P.E. was when the action began.

Sasuke walked out of the locker room without changing once more and was expecting Gai to announce that they would run laps . . . again. The spandex-clad eccentric pranced in a circle as he spoke, a bag of helmets and shoulder pads bouncing over his shoulder with every leap.

"We shall play football of youth!" he cried – literally cried. "Divide your spirited bodies into teams and wait for the whistle of love!" **[1]**

Sasuke smirked, loving the idea of the game. He turned to exchange glances with Naruto, but something caught his interest from the corner of his eye. The three boys that had taunted Sasuke during the last P.E. session had chosen another target, this time a boy of average build and a shag of black hair.

"Cut it out, Akira," the boy told the one that shoved him to the side. The name was embedded into Sasuke's memory.

Akira gave a particularly rough shove on the way to the bag of equipment, effectively pushing the boy to the floor for a few moments. Sasuke frowned, and then smirked . . . and then frowned again before deciding on a permanent smirk.

It was time to have a little fun.

Clad in a helmet and shoulder pads, the plotting Uchiha stood in the middle of the field, his ears perked for the first sign of the whistle. The class had been separated into two teams and Sasuke was hunched between Naruto and Neji (the senior class had officially merged with Gai's class for the rest of the year due to problems with the other teacher), waiting for the other team on the offense.

Akira was the quarterback, Sasuke noticed, and with his personality, Sasuke knew he would try and run with the ball the second it was snapped to him. **[2]**

"I'm marking him," the Uchiha whispered to his teammates, his eyes never leaving Akira.

Neji raised an eyebrow. "Any particular reason why?"

"Payback."

"He'll run with it," Lee whispered back from between Neji and an idle Sai. "He's not on the track team, but he's fast."

"I'm faster."

Sasuke was sure.

Gai blew his whistle and the offensive team almost immediately went into action, calling out fake numbers before snapping the ball back. Akira caught it deftly in his hands.

The game was on.

Sasuke watched as the other players immediately spread out, making a path for Akira to begin running. The boy way fast, Sasuke had to admit. He had already weaved through most of the players in the front and was heading for a touchdown. Gai's giddy voice was in the background, screaming about the youth and cheering them on.

Sasuke took off with twice Akira's speed.

Akira was quite a long distance ahead of the Uchiha already. Naruto jumped for him, but missed, fell to the floor, and was leapt over.

Sasuke went right on running.

He was catching up. Akira was only a few meters ahead of him. He willed his feet to move faster, faster. Almost there. Almost there. He could smell Akira's sweat. The goalposts were only a few meters away. Almost there. Almost there.

_WHAM!_

Defense cheered.

Sasuke had slammed directly into Akira's side, bringing him to the ground with a grunt and violent force. The football rolled limply from the boy's fingertips.

"Ugh . . ."

"Beautiful!" Gai was screaming. "Beautiful! Such youthful tackling!"

Sasuke stood up and admired his handiwork. Akira, the wind knocked from his lungs, was slightly dazed. He hadn't expected such incredible force.

Sasuke smirked.

P.E. was going to be interesting.

When Akira had finally been helped up by a friend of his, he turned to stare at the Uchiha with the most menacing glare he could muster (which, Sasuke thought, wasn't very menacing), and said, "You're dead, Uchiha."

Sasuke smiled as sweetly as he could – which wasn't very sweet, but it was taunting nonetheless.

He felt the familiar adrenaline pumping fiercely through his veins, driving his power as the plays continued on. His feet moved smoothly over the coarse earth as he ran with the ball, for the ball, from the ball. Adrenaline was what propelled him forwards, anger was what propelled him into Akira over and over and over again, and the electrifying feeling of running with the ball was what propelled him past the goalposts for one touchdown after the next.

"Foul!" Akira shouted the third time he hit the dirt. "He fouled me! You saw that!"

"That was a clean tackle," Neji told him. "Unless you'd like me to read the rule book to you."

Akira merely raised his middle finger to the long-haired brunette when Gai wasn't looking and limped off, muttering curses beneath his breath.

His team, whether they hated Sasuke or not, desperately tried to bring the charcoal-haired boy to the ground. They thrust this way and that, always aiming to bring him down by the waist with a brutal lunge, but he simply kept running.

He ran too fast for them to follow. Faster, faster, the world became a blur around him when he got into the game, only looking out for his teammates in case he had to make a quick pass. He had silently devised quick-passing schemes with the others as the game progressed, and soon, he wasn't the only one carrying the ball.

By the final whistle ending the game ten minutes before the end of class, Sasuke had only touched the ground once, and it had been an illegal tackle by Akira. The latter, officially fed up with gaining a bruise every time he held the ball, had run after Sasuke as he was on offense. Instead of tackling from the shoulder down, he had swung his arm around the Uchiha's neck and slammed him to the floor.

Sasuke's team went wild, their minds clouded with victory.

"Foul!"

"Penalty!"

"That was totally illegal!"

The Uchiha was on his back, aching terribly and dazed from the force of contact as Gai reprimanded Akira with a sparkle still present in his creepily-white teeth. He saw a hand enter his bleary vision and, following the arm, found that the boy he had seen being picked on by Akira earlier was the one that was extending the gesture. Sasuke took the hand gratefully when he could feel his arms once again and was lifted without a word, but a simple exchange of nods and a wince sufficed.

He was content and smiling on the inside.

The boys were now dragging their feet back to a corner of the field to put away their equipment. They took their time removing their helmets from their sweat-drenched heads and piling their shoulder pads into the bag.

Akira was speaking.

"It's that leg of his that gives him that running advantage," he was saying loudly. "Otherwise, he'd be in the nurse by now."

But no one was listening.

No one was giving Akira the time of day, listening to his idiotic accusations. The boys who Sasuke knew or did not know simply put their equipment away and walked back to the locker room for showers. If they listened, they didn't grace him with a comment.

Sasuke suddenly felt strange, and he could not place the emotion.

"Best game of football I have _ever_ played!" Naruto exclaimed vibrantly as they were walking back. He pumped a fist into the air to kill his remaining adrenaline. His blond spikes were flattened over his forehead from his sweat. "Seriously, Sasuke! That was a_mazing_! Man, Kiba picked the wrong time to be on crutches!"

"You suck at throwing, you know that?" Sai commented offhandedly, a large smile on his face as if he had complimented the Uchiha. He frowned, suddenly noticing a dirt stain on his belly-exposing shirt.

"He doesn't have to be good at throwing if he can run and tackle the way he did today," Shikamaru replied.

Sasuke, admittedly, never played too much of football before coming to Konoha and so he had never had the chance to perfect the way he threw. He didn't comment; he was too busy contemplating whether or not to take a shower and feeling the oncoming shocks of a returning headache.

He mourned the loss of his clean attire and stared at the dirt stain that covered the side of his sweat-soaked shirt. There was no way he could go into class smelling foul and looking unclean, but he had no change of clothes.

_Damn._

The lights suddenly went out.

Startled, Sasuke reached for his eyes, only to find that a dark sweater had been thrown at his head. He let the light return to his vision and glanced at the sweater before looking around the locker room. Sai was smiling excessively at him.

"I wore that to school this morning, but I took it off because it got too hot," he explained. "You can borrow it for the day and give it back to me tomorrow. I read in a book somewhere that it is always nice to be able to help someone in a sticky situation."

"You've really got to show me those books you read, Sai," said Naruto, slinging an arm around the pale boy's shoulders briefly.

Sai turned to him, his smile still stuck on his face. "Gladly," he said. "Which volume would you like to choose from one to forty-three?"

"Thank you," Sasuke said interrupted with sincerity, grabbing the sweater and his bag and moving to a vacant shower stall.

He stared at the tall doors and was satisfied; the crack between the top of the stall and the ceiling was too high for anyone to reach, and too small for anyone to poke their heads through to stare down at the Uchiha. He entered, closed the door, and put his bag and sweater on the hook away from the showerhead.

Sasuke managed to take a shower in a matter of minutes despite wanting to relish in the feeling of the hot water as he had done in the Uzumaki household. He reluctantly turned the water off and dressed, fixing his prosthetic leg into place and changing it to its first mode. There was no towel in his possession and so he simply waited a few minutes, hoping the air would somewhat dry his body, before beginning to slip his pants back on.

Sasuke winced as he raised his arms to put on Sai's sweater; there was a large purplish bruise growing on the side of his ribs from the impact of the fall. Even with Sai's svelte frame, the sweater still hung loosely off of the Uchiha's body. Sasuke frowned. He told himself he would pass by Kotetsu and Izumo's bakery for a bagel or something of the sort.

Having Pre Calculus directly after such an exciting class of football killed Sasuke's mood. He sat sluggishly in the class, his attention going in and out of focus and the feeling of his fever returning with twice its strength. Shikamaru was asleep on his right; Naruto, listless, was shaking his leg up and down with enough force to wear away the tiles beneath his feet.

Shop class came next. Kankuro's personality returned around the Uchiha when Sasuke had, once again, been the first to complete the assignment in class, with TenTen right behind him. He propped himself onto his desk, a lollipop in his mouth, and grinned.

"I need to give longer assignments," he said, to which the class groaned. "I can't have you guys taking free time everyday. It looks bad on my reputation."

"What you need is an advanced course," TenTen told him.

"Alright, how many people would take an advanced course if I made one?"

TenTen was the only one raising her hand. Kankuro pretended to look shocked, but the real shock came when he realized Sasuke wasn't raising his hand.

"I'm hurt, Uchiha," he said. "You wouldn't take it?"

"I like having free time, thank you," was the suave, mocking reply.

TenTen giggled. Kankuro rolled his eyes, muttering, "Of course you do" as Sasuke left for the backroom to gather more wood supplies.

He had decided during the beginning of class that he would begin making household items to bring home whenever he had free time. They were fairly simple and quick to make. He had finished three wooden cups and two rice bowls by the end of class, perfectly sanded and left out for their varnish to dry.

He frowned.

He remembered that he wouldn't be able to use the rice bowls for anything since their stove, despite running on gas, needed electricity to be able to transport the gas to the stovetop. So without electricity, they wouldn't be able to cook rice.

So there was no point for a rice bowl.

He desperately wanted electricity. With the summer coming on, the heat of the candles at night was unbearable and left Sasuke feeling sluggish. The freezing showers in the morning made it hard for him to breathe properly, and he wanted his toaster waffles well-done, damn it! He didn't want to go to Kakashi's house every few days simply to charge his leg, either.

To bring back the electricity, however, would need money, and it was something Itachi simply didn't have as he was trying to bring back and maintain the other necessities. Money, however, was something Sasuke could get.

Oh yes.

The Uchiha smiled to himself, thinking. He knew how he could get money. Perfect, he thought. All he needed was the school's printer and permission from a certain someone.

Detention arrived. Kakashi was not there to pick him up, startling the Uchiha slightly, but Sasuke knew his way to Ibiki's room (it was, after all, not hard to spot the padlock). The strange man sat at his desk again, a new volume of _My Little Pony_ in his hands.

"Uh, sir?" Sasuke spoke before he sat down.

"Shut up, Uchiha. You're in detention."

Yes, Sasuke would never know what the book was about. Perhaps it was fate that way; perhaps fate was protecting him from the truth for a good reason.

_SCHWIP!_

A ruler was suddenly cracked against his desk and he jumped, his heart beating wildly. Ibiki stared down at him with a smirk at his reaction.

"Detention is over."

_What?!_

His mind had wandered during the punishment and he hadn't realized that time had gone by so quickly. Ibiki brandished the ruler threateningly, ordering the Uchiha to leave his classroom. Sasuke did so gladly.

He applauded himself mentally upon entering the halls on the fact that he had not thought about the other students at all throughout his day.

Until now.

Some of them were still staring at him, but a majority of them averted their eyes and walked on. Sasuke thought it had been an improvement, even if some of them weren't looking at him because of the fight that had taken place.

_You can't have everything in life_, he thought sardonically.

Arabic was uneventful and Sasuke, having not had time to crack open the Arabic book he had been given, sat in the middle of class without understanding anything further than the alphabet. He watched the clock, counting down the minutes until school would end and he would be able to go to the library before he would have to be sitting in Kakashi's office.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"You look like you had fun today."

Sasuke sighed.

"That was sarcasm, you know."

Sasuke sighed.

Again.

"If you've been living a life of drama and it all mellows out suddenly, you feel like everything goes by slowly and boringly," Sasuke finally replied, burying himself in his beanbag chair and straightening the papers in his hands. **[3]**

Kakashi nodded his head. "All those classes of Psychology finally paying off, huh?"

"So what's my punishment today?" Sasuke continued, uninterested. "Clapping erasers? Sorting books alphabetically? Washing the entire boy's locker room with a toothbrush?"

"While that toothbrush suggestion _does_ sound tempting, Asuma actually has some real work for you to do. He needs help cleaning up after a major experiment, and then sorting a few loose files here and there."

"Fun."

Kakashi smirked. "If it helps, it shouldn't take longer than an hour."

"Oh boy. We're partying now."

"It would really help if you didn't overuse your sarcasm."

Sasuke silenced, having nothing to reply with. Kakashi cocked his head to the side, surprised.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked. He reached over and put a hand to Sasuke's forehead. "You usually reply until I'm the one without the words."

"Yeah, yeah, I'm feeling alright," Sasuke said dismissively.

"You're warm."

"I had a fever from last night. Nothing to worry about."

"Speaking of last night –"

"Hooray."

"Tsunade called me up this morning." He leaned back against his chair, his eyes twinkling with admiration. "Apparently, you told a certain blond your life story."

"Don't think too much of it, Hatake."

"Oh-ho! Quite the contrary, Sasuke, this is a major step in your therapy. What made you tell him?"

Sasuke sat for a while, thinking over Kakashi's question. He shifted uncomfortably in the chair. "I don't know," he said truthfully. "I was feeling pretty depressed, and I still can't take in what Itachi told me last night. He was just _there_, you know? Someone to talk to."

Kakashi hummed, pleased. He nudged the Uchiha to get him to stand up. "You're really growing, Sasuke. You're making amazing progress, and you've finally got someone to trust."

He opened the door, allowing the shorter male to walk out beneath his arm before he stared over the Uchiha's shoulders. He caught a glimpse of the papers curled in his hands and raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Sheet music?"

"Yeah," said Sasuke. "Actually, Kakashi, can you do me a favor? Can you call Itachi for me and tell him I'll be playing at the Chalk O' Lit Café all day today?"

Kakashi's eyebrows raised even more. "You'll be doing music gigs, I suppose."

Sasuke smirked. "_Someone_ needs to get the electricity back."

Kakashi opened the door to Asuma's room and pushed the boy through. He waved to Asuma.

"I've got your slave, Asuma," he called to the man. "Go as hard on him as you want."

Asuma grinned deviously and went along with the game, gesturing to the lab tables around the room. "It was a pretty nasty lab. Hydrochloric acid everywhere. It's a good thing we didn't use that methane gas, right?"

"Hydrochloric acid isn't yellow," Sasuke replied wryly. The table tops were covered in yellow goo.

"Too smart for my own good, eh?" replied Asuma.

Kakashi turned to Sasuke, smiling beneath his mask. "I'll call Itachi right away."

The door was closed, leaving only a teacher and his student. Asuma motioned for Sasuke to come over to the supply closet in the room. A rag was tossed in the Uchiha's direction, followed by a spray bottle and a pair of gloves.

"It's not acidic and it's not poisonous, but safety first, right?" the teacher supplied. "Clean the tables and the equipment on them and then put them away in the cabinets. And as soon as you're done, there are papers on the shelves that need to be sorted alphabetically into the filing cabinet. Easy, right?"

Sasuke rolled up the sleeves of Sai's sweater to his elbows and put the gloves on, immediately putting the rag to the yellowish goo to begin cleaning. "Are you going to help as well?" he asked as he pushed the goo into the built-in sink.

"Actually, I've got a few errands to run in the school." Asuma was already at the door. "But I'll be back in fifteen minutes and then I'll help out, okay?"

Sasuke simply kept mopping up the yellow goo.

He didn't like the emptiness of the room. He expected Asuma to have stayed, maybe even to have tried to start up futile conversation with the Uchiha, but at least he would be in the room. No, Sasuke didn't like the loneliness of the room. It made him feel uneasy.

Loving silence and loving loneliness were two completely different things. Sasuke used to think he loved being alone, but he didn't. He hated it. His hatred only worsened when people were taken away from him one by one.

He really hated it.

When Asuma returned, he found Sasuke already sorting through the files on the shelf in the back. The tables had been wiped to a sparkling sheen, the equipment that had once littered their tops now cleaned and in the cabinets. Asuma whistled to show his admiration.

"Amazing," he said. "You're really something, Uchiha. You managed to do all of that in fifteen minutes?"

Sasuke closed the filing cabinet.

"Done."

Asuma strode to where he stood and opened the cabinet again. "No way," he said. "Are you sure you didn't just shove all of the papers in there?"

Sasuke didn't grace him with an answer. He simply sat down on one of the stools and swung his legs idly. Asuma sorted through a few files, making sure they were in the correct areas, and when he found the Uchiha's words to be true, he grew surprised.

"This was supposed to take you an hour! What the heck am I going to tell Kakashi?"

Sasuke leaned against the wall from his stool and smirked arrogantly. "You can tell him my detention's over."

Defeated, Asuma sighed. "You're right," he said. "I've got nothing left for you to do. You're free to go, kid." He turned around to stare at the cabinet again. "Kakashi's going to _kill_ me!"

Sasuke's smirk was pinned to his face as he reached for his backpack and left the room with a whispered parting. He absentmindedly fondled the sheet music he had printed off in the library. It was time to set his plan into action.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke had never been to the heart of Konoha since his tournament incident. He hadn't really been out in public, either. And so, cutting through the forest, he hesitated slightly before stepping out into the open shopping center.

It was always bustling with people old and young, always bright with sunlight and lively. The stores were occupied, the streets were active, and Sasuke was uneasy. He stepped further between the crowds, wondering how long it would take for people to notice him. On the bright side, he knew the media would never be able to effectively follow him.

A few citizens looked down at the sudden appearance of a dark figure. Those who recognized him stopped briefly, their eyes scrutinizing. Others simply walked by him, pushing him deeper into the heart of the crowd. Sasuke walked onwards.

A low murmur of whispers broke out behind him, but he didn't turn around. He simply kept on walking until he spotted a familiar sign to a bakery owned by two people.

Kotetsu and Izumo.

Sasuke didn't know how they would react. He hadn't seen them for a long, long while, and they had definitely seen his fall. Taking a small breath, Sasuke stood in the line of the bakery. He waited for the man affront of him to buy what seemed to be practically half of the bakery before he was facing the counter.

"Hey, how can we –?"

Kotetsu stopped mid-sentence when he realized who he was talking to. He stood for a while, eyes wide and mouth open. Sasuke stood, anxious.

And suddenly, he was being pulled into the bakery.

"Sasuke!" cried Kotetsu.

Several civilians stopped when the name was heard and they looked into the bakery to find Kotetsu squeezing a confused Sasuke tightly and swinging him around.

"Izumo! Izumo, look! It's Sasuke!"

"Saucy?!" came Izumo's voice from within. He appeared seconds later, covered in flour and grinning. "Holy sauces, it's Saucy!"

He joined in on the hug. Sasuke gave a yelp of pain, unable to withstand the agony of the men's strong arms digging into his bruise. Kotetsu and Izumo let go immediately, worry taking over their expressions.

"Oh damn, we're sorry!"

"We got carried away! Are you alright?"

Sasuke nodded, standing up with a wince and lifting Sai's flour-covered sweater slightly to reveal a hint of his bruise. Kotetsu winced as Izumo gently brushed the flour from Sasuke's body.

"Um, excuse me?" a customer called awkwardly from the counter.

Kotetsu apologized deeply to Sasuke and went to attend to the customer quickly. Izumo stared at Sasuke, smiling softly.

"You meanie," he said. "You didn't come visit us for a while."

Sasuke, confused by their actions, said, "I was . . . incapacitated."

Izumo seemed to get the hint. "Oh, come on." He brushed off a stray pile of flour from Sasuke's shoulder. "You didn't really think that tournament was going to change anything about the way we thought of you, did you?"

"Everyone else changed," was the bitter reply.

Kotetsu returned, grinning. He ruffled Sasuke's hair affectionately. "How're you feeling? And why'd you suddenly decide to come out of the Bat Cave?"

"He's not Batman, you loser. He's Dracula."

"Same thing."

Sasuke felt at ease. He had never really appreciated the presence of the two bakers until that very moment.

"I'm off to play at the Chalk O' Lit Café."

"Hungry?" Kotetsu quickly reached for a wrapped bagel. "It's cream cheese – your favorite."

Sasuke dug around in his backpack for a dollar and pulled it out, handing it to Kotetsu. The older man shook his head.

"On the house," Izumo replied for him. "We haven't seen you in so long."

"No, I –"

Kotetsu quickly shoved it into Sasuke's backpack and pushed the teenager from the bakery. "Have a nice day!" he chirped.

Sasuke sighed and let himself be pushed away by the crowd.

He was standing in front of the vibrant window of the Chalk O' Lit Café, his hand reaching slowly for the door, as if unsure. His brain decided it wanted Sasuke's slender fingers to push against the cool glass of the door and in he went, into the one public place he visited where students were not the sole occupants. Civilization ruled, and people he had never met before were sitting.

The soft chime of the door turned a few heads simultaneously to the new arrival, and most heads continued to stare – including Temari's.

The blond swung the rag in her hands over her shoulder and gave a twisted sort of grin, as if she was suddenly amused at something she shouldn't be amused at.

"Uchiha," she said powerfully when he advanced to the counter. Her eyes, Sasuke noticed, were determined not to waver from his face. "Long time, no see."

He was silent, and she expected nothing more.

"I'm guessing you're here for a few gigs." She took his silence as an answer and led him to a two-man table. "You've got guts, you know that?"

"Why?" came Sasuke's dark voice at last. He stared at her with his expressionless eyes. "Because I decided not to give a damn about what anyone thinks?"

At this, Temari silenced. She stared at Sasuke for a few moments, her eyes trying to put together the puzzle pieces of Sasuke's mind, but she gave up when she realized a few pieces were hidden.

"You're an interesting person," she told him quietly. "And we've got three spots to fill for gigs today. Two of them are night gigs. Can you do all of them?"

Sasuke nodded his head, watching her take out a notepad from the pocket of her apron. She put a pen to the paper, waiting for him to order.

"Tea," was his familiar response. "Green. No sugar. And a turkey sandwich."

"Your first gig is in an hour. I'll bring your lunch over right away."

Sasuke placed his backpack on the floor beside him and looked over his sheet music, wondering which song to play. He studied his audience; it was a mix of teenagers and a handful of adults, and the café was filled to every last table. The sun would be beginning to set by the time he had his hands over the piano keys.

Perfect.

He would begin with his best song, leaving a lasting impression on a larger group of people.

Temari came over soon, putting Sasuke's lunch down affront of him and staring at the song he had chosen. She frowned in curiosity.

"I've never heard that song before," she said. "I'm looking forward to a good surprise."

Sasuke busied himself with magazines and his lunch, listening to the different music that was played on stage or over the speakers. He chose to ignore the constant staring he was receiving from a little girl two tables over.

"Uchiha."

Temari's voice cut through his silent thoughts as he stared at an uninteresting article in a magazine. Sasuke looked up.

"You're on in five."

Sasuke nodded and put the magazine aside in favor of picking up his first set of sheet music. All eyes were on him as he walked to the stage, his worn sneakers soundless against the wooden floor. Even the teenagers gathered around the pool table had paused their game to watch Sasuke settle himself at the piano calmly and flex his fingers.

An awkward silence descended upon the crowd. Temari walked to the microphone, feeling the change of atmosphere at once.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we've got a special performance going on now," she announced. "The return of Uchiha Sasuke. A round of applause, please."

The applause was hesitant, out of politeness and recovering surprise. Sasuke didn't care too much for the gesture, but there was one pair of hands that was clapping strongly. The Uchiha looked out into the crowd and didn't have to look far before he spotted blond hair and neon orange. He smirked at the surprise appearance, but could not comment.

Temari adjusted the microphone stand in front of Sasuke's head and gave him a smile of reassurance before leaving the stage for the Uchiha. Sasuke was thankful that the irritating spotlight had not been turned on; a beautiful array of colors shone through the windows from the setting sun. Sasuke sighed.

_Here goes nothing._

His playing started soft, with single notes for a beautiful opening. The opening was repeated, but more fingers joined to dance on the keys for a stronger beat. Sasuke opened his lips and poured his velvet words out as the beat softened and slowed.

"When dreaming, I'm guided to another world time and time again."

His voice was low, dancing with pitches on the final word.

"At sunrise, I fight to stay asleep, 'cause I don't want to leave the comfort of this place . . . 'Cause there's a hunger, a longing to escape, from the life I live when I'm awake."

The song sung the truth. The rich words were not lies; it was as if Sasuke told his story with the movement of every tone, every note, every rhythm. The beat picked up as his voice deepened.

"So let's go there. Let's make our escape. Come on, let's go there. Let's ask can we stay?"

He yelled softly, closing his eyes as the chorus came on, his head leaned back to speak to the Heavens.

"Can you take me higher?" he asked it. "To a place where blind men see. Can you take me higher? To a place with golden streets."

He was done questioning no one, and the beat returned with the slow rhythm and the deep lyrics.

"Although I would like our world to change, it helps me appreciate those nights and those dreams. But, my friend, I'd sacrifice all those nights if I could make the Earth and my dreams the same. The only difference is to let love replace all our hate. So let's go there. Let's make our escape. Come on, let's go there. Let's ask can we stay?"

The chorus was back and Sasuke was in the moment, preaching his words to everyone that stared at him in awe and adoration. A new verse came with the same intensity before cooling down to a quiet buildup, and it was back to the soft yelling.

"Can you take me higher? To a place where blind men see. Can you take me higher? To a place with golden streets." **[4]**

He let the final notes of the piano ring as he ended, his eyes sweeping over the audience as if daring them to judge him. Temari came to the stage and smiled broadly at him.

"Uchiha Sasuke, ladies and gentlemen, with yet another amazing performance."

The applause was louder, not as loud as Sasuke remembered the cheering had been when he first came to the stage, but still loud enough for appreciation. Sasuke gathered his music and left the stage where Naruto greeted him, acting as if he hadn't just been on stage.

"Do you stalk me or something?" the Uchiha asked as he sat down, Naruto taking liberty to steal the seat in front of him.

"Kind of," replied Naruto with a silly grin. "I asked Kakashi where you were and he told me you were heading to the café. I'm glad I didn't miss _that_ performance. That was too cool. You're really on fire today."

"I'm having a good day," was the reply. "How was practice?"

Sasuke eyed Naruto's track attire for a moment before returning to the magazine he had abandoned.

"Same old, same old. I don't see you doing any practicing."

"Kakashi hasn't been focusing on physical therapy too much, and I promised him I wouldn't do anything without his authorization." Sasuke grimaced. He wanted to train, and slamming fellow classmates into the ground during a game of football wasn't exactly building up anything but bruises.

"Burger and fries, please, Temari!" Naruto called when the blond woman had returned to her counter.

"I'll get right on it, fat ass!"

"At least my fat butt doesn't jiggle when I move."

Temari gasped, glaring darkly at Naruto. The whiskered boy laughed boldly until she turned around; his laughter immediately turned nervous and he scratched his cheek with a finger.

"Oh man, I shouldn't have done that. Now she's going to poison my food."

"So much for training," said Sasuke. "You just ran the track, and now you're going to ruin it all on a burger and fries?"

"I can't help it if my body has needs of its own."

_"This just in!"_

Sasuke's attention was turned to the flat screen television embedded into the wall by the billiards table. A familiar picture was being shown on the screen. Sasuke sucked in a breath that he did not release.

"And anyway, a burger isn't really _that_ bad. It's got some kind of protein if you squint –"

"Hush!"

Sasuke leaned over the table and clamped his hand over Naruto's mouth, his eyes still staring at the news report. Naruto didn't remove himself from Sasuke's grasp. He stared at the television screen visible over Sasuke's shoulders, wondering what had captivated the brunette so intensely.

_"Police this morning have finally apprehended criminal Orochimaru after being seen trying to escape from his underground laboratory last night. Orochimaru, previously charged for sexual assault, rape, torture, and kidnapping, has been taken in with charges of conducting illegal experiments involving human victims . . ."_

Sasuke's eyes widened. His arm fell limply from Naruto's mouth.

_". . . for sexual assault, rape . .."_

He could feel Orochimaru's breath stroking his neck, the moistness of his mouth creating goosebumps all over his body.

"He's captured," Naruto whispered in awe.

Sasuke didn't share the same line of optimistic thought. He rubbed one of his arms fiercely as if there was something he couldn't remove.

Had Orochimaru done anything to him while he was sedated?

What reassurance did he have that he hadn't been touched?

"Sasuke, they got him!"

Admittedly, the pedophilic man had never been on his mind – _ever_ – since the night with Kimimaro in the hospital. Now that the news brought him up, however, he could not help the thoughts that plagued him.

Kimimaro's face came floating in his mind once more and he shivered, recalling the blood and bruises that had been present on the older teen's body. Had Orochimaru done something to him? Was there something he wasn't telling anyone?

"Oi," Naruto tried to get Sasuke's attention. "Sasuke, hey. Why do you look so worried? He's officially gone, and they gave him a life sentence."

Naruto hadn't been there. He wouldn't know the horrors of the cellar or of the hospital-like room where he was strapped to an operating table.

"You don't think Orochimaru did anything . . . weird, do you?" he asked, unsure of how to word his question.

Naruto thought for a few moments before finally getting the hint. He looked surprised. "What? No! No way! Sasuke, don't think about those kind of things!"

"But Naruto –"

"I'm pretty sure he didn't do anything," said Naruto. "And you can go to Granny for a checkup, but I really don't think he tried anything. And even if he did . . ." The blond leaned forwards, effectively knocking a few french-fries from his plate. ". . . Ignorance is bliss."

And he knew all too well.

Sasuke couldn't shake the feeling off. He told himself he was simply overreacting. He was thinking too much. After all, just because someone was charged for pedophilic and sexual crimes didn't mean that he did them _all_ the time.

Right?

His second performance, Open Your Eyes, had begun a little shaky when his fingers glided across the piano keys an hour later. The audience had lessened, but Sasuke wasn't in the café for attention. He wanted to go home as quickly as he could to sleep off the feeling, but he told himself to stay for the money.

Naruto briefly pulled the Uchiha into conversation after his second gig.

"You don't regret telling me?" he asked out of the blue.

Sasuke, surprised by the sudden topic, stared strangely at the blond. "I think we've been over this."

"I want a straight answer."

"No, I don't regret telling you."

He returned to his magazine, indifferent. Naruto wasn't pleased.

"How the heck can you be so unfazed?" he asked. "I mean, that's a lot to take in, isn't it? How can you simply come to school and act normally about it?"

Sasuke finally put his magazine down and stared at the blond, analyzing him as if he was Kakashi and Naruto was his patient. He was silent for a while before realization dawned onto him.

"Do _you_ regret that I told you?"

Naruto frowned. Sasuke saved him from an answer.

"You and I have two different minds, Naruto," he said quietly. "Yes, I haven't taken it in yet, but that doesn't mean I should let it affect my entire life. If I let every little detail keep me from living normally, I wouldn't be able to function."

Naruto's mouth twisted into a semi-frown and he was at loss of words, unsure of what to respond with. He settled for silence. Soon, his presence was eliminated from the café when he had to leave for home, offering Sasuke a ride and wishing him good luck when Sasuke declined.

The café was beginning to empty out. Sasuke busied himself with homework and studying for the Health test before his third gig at eight. Thoughts of Orochimaru had officially taken over his mind and he tried to will the goosebumps away. He was quick to grab his bag to exit the café the second he walked off of the stage to a round of polite applause. Temari was waiting for him, smirking.

"I really hope you become a regular," she told him. "Forty dollars. Enjoy."

"Thank you."

And he was gone.

He tried to limit his contact with other human bodies as he maneuvered through the market's streets. The crowds were thinning, but Sasuke still had to carefully skirt around them at some points. He knew with his mind unable to drift away from the thought of Orochimaru, he would most likely turn any form of contact into a panic attack, and he wasn't about to have one in the middle of civilization.

Just when he thought he was finally about to leave the market place, a display in the window to his right caught his eyes, and he was drawn in. He took three steps backwards and stood in front of the glass that separated him and a mountain of shoes.

_Thirty Percent Off Sale!_

There was a particularly eye-catching pair of sneakers in the window. They were simply white, with navy blue soles, tongues, and embroidery, and a sign beneath them read $_33.50._

Sasuke looked at the shoes for a while. He glanced at his own black sneakers, ripping apart in some areas and beginning to fall apart from the soles of the feet. They would never last him for the next tournament, and if he was to buy new sneakers, he needed to buy them early so he would have time to break them in.

The money in his pocket seemed to weigh so much more all of a sudden.

He did a few calculations in his head, taking away thirty percent of the price of the shoes and finding that it was a little over twenty dollars. A frown marred his face. To buy the shoes would mean taking away half of the money he had earned.

But he needed shoes.

But he needed money.

But the tournament . . .

But the electricity . . .

Sasuke looked extremely awkward standing in front of the store without moving a finger. He was thinking about what to do. He really needed to win the tournament. The entirety of his future depended on it, yet he needed to bring back the electricity.

The electricity, however would need more than forty dollars, and so either way, he would have to keep going back to the Chalk O' Lit Café for more. After more thinking, more biting of the lip, and more pacing, his mind was made up.

Uchiha Sasuke later walked out of Konoha's Footcubby™ with a new pair of sneakers and thoughts of the tournament clouding his mind.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] Football:** I'm American-taught, so any references will be American, like football. However, I'm also Egyptian-taught, so I will use the metric system, with the exception of degrees in Farenheit. It gets confusing . . . Sorry!

**[2] Football Terminology:** My apologies to those who don't know anything about football, but it's not that important. The important thing is that there are a bunch of sweaty guys banging into each other, and Sasuke practically kills one. Questions?

**[3] Boring Life due to Lack of Drama:** This is actually rather true! I need drama!

**[4] First Song: **This is Higher, by Creed. I recommend it to everyone. No joke. It's amazing. The second song is Open Your Eyes by Snow Patrol.

I apologize deeply for all of the notes! One last thing is that I felt this chapter was a sort of filler, and that now that we have things cleared up, areas rementioned, and the tournament on Sasuke's mind, we can move forward.


	22. Say

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I wouldn't have to think of a new disclaimer.

**Author's Note:** Hm . . . I'm running out of things to say here!

Just a short thing: I'm trying to get the progress of this story moving along, but I don't want it moving along too quickly. I need to clear things up on the way before I can get to the marathon.

I really want to start the marathon, but I've got to be patient with my story, too. So please be patient.

I think maybe three chapters until the _beginning _of the marathon marathon? Two? Four?

I have it planned, but not written. Damn.

**Chapter 22  
**…**:::Say:::…  
****John Mayer**

Someone was in his house.

There was someone _in_ his _house_ and messing around with the cabinets in the kitchen. Alarmed, Sasuke grabbed tightly onto the bag containing his shoes, ready to use it as a weapon to swing around the neck of the unknown figure. He suspected it was a member of the media; the signs on his door asking for interviews and pictures were overflowing and there had been a strange absence of cameras on his way home.

The Uchiha silently put his bag down as he closed the door and tiptoed to the kitchen. His arm itched to swing the bag at the shadow moving stealthily past his refrigerator.

A burglar!

Without a second's hesitation, Sasuke ran forwards and tackled the figure to the ground. Football had paid off. The man – he was sure it was a man now – fell to the floor with a startled yelp. Sasuke, however, could not get up. He had used his bruised side to tackle him and a combination of pain and a sudden loss of breath left him temporarily stunned.

"What the _hell?!_" came the strangled voice of the man.

_Oh damn. I know that voice._

Kisame.

The bluish man sat up, rubbing his head and elbows with a wince crinkling his gill tattoos. A colorful string of curses left his mouth.

"Sasuke?"

Sasuke sat up, wincing as well. "Kisame?" he called out in a voice that showed he was obviously in pain.

"Are you okay? And was that your version of a friendly hug? Where are you? Damn it, I can't see anything in this dark!"

Sasuke felt groping hands accidentally brush against his thighs. He flinched and jerked his body away. Kisame frowned in the oblivion they sat in.

"Hey, are you really alright?"

"Let me just find a candle, okay? I thought you were a burglar."

"A _burglar?!_" came the rhetorical yell as the Uchiha stood to grope blindly through the darkness. "So you slam me into the floor? Is that how you attack a burglar?"

"I had a box of shoes with me . . ."

"A box of shoes?!"

"Is there an echo in here?" Sasuke could not help but reply dryly. His fingers found the candles and matches on the kitchen counter. He struck a match and lit three candles with the flame that spawned.

Kisame's figure was no longer shadowed. Despite having an amused expression, he looked menacing from the way the light hit his face and illuminated his pointed teeth when he grinned.

"So let me get this straight," he said. "You thought you could bring down a burglar with a shoebox?"

"It sounded a lot better in my head, thank you very much."

Kisame laughed and led the Uchiha to the couch in the living room. He plopped down and spread his arms lazily against the cushions. "Sorry to disappoint. I came here to visit you, and I was just looking for the candles since you weren't home."

"You know, normal people don't usually enter other people's houses when they aren't home."

Kisame scoffed. "Normal people," he mocked. He noticed Sasuke was sitting rather awkwardly, one of his sides leaning over the arm of the couch to expose his other side. "Are you feeling okay?" the vegan repeated the question for the third time.

"Football," Sasuke supplied, wincing at the remembrance. "Some kid grabbed me by the neck and slammed me into the ground."

"Let me take a look at that. You might have a –"

"No, no, it's okay." Sasuke held out a hand to stop the advancing man. "I'm fine. Really."

"Your definition of 'fine' doesn't really fly with the English language."

"Your use of words isn't exactly English, either."

Kisame left for the kitchen and returned with an all-too-familiar first aid kid. "If you can understand it, it's English. Now sit still."

"Kisame, really –"

Sasuke sucked in a breath when the sweater was lifted from his waist to expose his skin to the air. He shivered slightly and heard Kisame hiss.

"That is one hell of a nasty bruise."

When Kisame's fingers brushed lightly against Sasuke's skin, the Uchiha flinched violently and reeled back into the couch.

"What was that for?" asked Kisame, suspicious at the teenager's actions against any touch.

"It hurts," Sasuke quickly lied. "A lot. I think I might've fractured a rib."

"Well, I can't check if you don't let me see properly, now can I?"

Sasuke bit his lip and closed his eyes, allowing Kisame's fingers to once again move over his naked flesh. It took all of his effort not to begin to shiver. Kisame quickly finished, saying that his ribs had not been harmed, and ointment was applied to the bruise.

"I need to wash this sweater anyway," Sasuke commented offhandedly. He wanted an excuse to get up from the couch and away from Kisame's close presence. "I borrowed it."

"I didn't know you swung for the other team," teased the vegan.

"I'm not gay, Kisame." **[1]**

"That's what all the pretty boys say."

"Flattery will get you nowhere," Sasuke replied quickly, trying not to think about why the last two comments had coincidentally rhymed.

"Hey, fake it 'til you make it."

Sasuke considered sticking his tongue out instead of replying with a sarcastic comment, but he simply shot Kisame a dirty look and removed Sai's sweater. Kisame suddenly jumped over the couch and hid.

"Oi, oi, put that back on!" he shouted from his hiding place. "It's dark, there are candles lit, and you're half-naked! Itachi might come in and get the wrong idea!"

"Oh, for goodness sake . . .! You're weirder than my P.E. teacher!"

But Gai's spandex-bearing body, sparking teeth, and shouts of joy suddenly flashed before Sasuke's eyes and he shook his head.

"Wait, scratch that. He wins."

He walked to where his bag was stationed by the door and pulled both his dirtied shirt and the bagel that had been given to him from its depths. Kisame, suddenly curious, stared at the bag containing the shoebox.

"Wait, you got new shoes?" he asked inquisitively, reaching for the box.

"I need new shoes for the upcoming marathon. The ones I have now won't last me very long."

Sasuke disappeared into the bathroom. Without electricity, the washing machine was useless; he would have to wash the shirts by hand.

"Oh, sweet, these are some righteous shoes!"

"Ruin them and I'll protest veggie burgers."

The Uchiha scrubbed furiously at his dirt-stained shirt beneath the icy rush of the faucet, using the soap for the washing machine and applying it manually.

Kisame soon lost interest in the new shoes he held and switched to the more fascinating wrapped bagel. He sniffed it.

"Kotetsu and Izumo's bagel!"

And he ate it.

Sasuke came back, two drenched shirts hanging over his bare shoulder, to find Kisame throwing away the plastic wrap and brushing the crumbs of the bagel from his shirt. The Uchiha stared at him in slight frustration.

". . . You ate my bagel?"

Kisame stared at him like a bluish deer caught in the middle of rush hour. "It was good . . .?

Sasuke "accidentally" splashed the shark-like man with a flurry of water from the soaking shirts hanging over his shoulder as he opened the nearest window; he hung the shirts over the sill to dry. Kisame, being a huge fan of the wet element, said nothing.

After Sasuke had donned a new shirt and had settled himself, the two males stayed in the comfort of each other's presence for a long while. Pointless banter was not ceaseless. They had played a silent game on the infamous chessboard, with the Uchiha winning in less than twenty moves each game.

When Kisame left late into the night, Sasuke, not wanting to sleep in favor of waiting for Itachi, began his homework. He managed to finish most of his English assignments by the time there was a jingle of keys at the door.

"You're still awake?"

The velvety voice pierced through the silence; a few nearby candles flickered from steady breaths. Itachi squinted through the darkness to find the outline of his brother's figure. He dropped his keys and hat on the table by the door, slipped his shoes from his feet, and entered.

"Yeah, I wanted to wait for you," Sasuke replied, watching Itachi collapse onto the couch. "I didn't get to see you since I left for Naruto's house."

"How are you feeling?"

Sasuke knew he meant to ask how he was taking things. The younger Uchiha shrugged lightly and switched positions so his legs dangled over the couch. "Good, I guess. Kakashi told you I told Naruto everything, right?"

He swore he saw the ghost of a smile playing with his brother's lips.

"Yes, he did. That really surprised me."

Sasuke shrugged, not wanting to dwell on the topic. Itachi took the hint and changed the topic with reluctance.

"Kakashi also told me that you were out at the Chalk O' Lit Café all day. Showing off, I presume?"

Sasuke scoffed. "That was _not_ showing off! That was business."

"Of course it was, little brother."

The mentioned Uchiha frowned at his brother's disbelieving tone and stood up to hand over the money he had brought. Itachi didn't count it. He didn't want to. The simple implication that Sasuke had worked to try and help him was enough.

"Nineteen-fifty," Sasuke said anyway, knowing the way Itachi thought.

"Not many spots opened?"

Sasuke brought a hand to rub the back of his neck, his mouth twisting in a disapproving manner at his own actions. He felt stupid now that he had been confronted and remembered what he had done.

"I kind of . . . bought new shoes," he said lamely. He picked up the accused box. "For twenty dollars and fifty cents."

Itachi silently extended his arms for the box. He opened the lid and pulled out one shoe, inspecting it closely, his fingers tracing the lines of the simple designs wordlessly.

"These are nice shoes for only twenty dollars," he finally said. "For track, I presume?"

Sasuke nodded his head and was handed the box once more. "I was going to go home with all forty dollars – really! But the marathon is coming up and the shoes I have now aren't –"

Itachi put a hand up to silence him. An amused glimmer flashed in his eyes. "Why are you trying to justify your actions?"

"Because I was selfish."

"Yes, you were," Itachi agreed. Sasuke looked taken aback. "But then again, I was selfish just this morning when I bought a muffin from the town bakery, and when I refilled the tank of the car with gas, and when I left my shift a minute before it was over. Sasuke, _everyone_ is selfish for a good reason. If you think about it, you were self_less."_

At the confusion on his younger brother's face, Itachi motioned for him to sit next to him. "You spent money to buy shoes to help you in a tournament that you want to win for money to help your family," he continued in a single breath. "I'm not sure about you, but I think that's a pretty selfless thing to do."

"But they're worth twenty dollars."

Itachi shrugged it off. "We need forty-five dollars to pay for the electricity. Even if you gave me all forty, we'd still need an extra five dollars, and I'm not about to spend our lunch money for it. See? Selfishness."

Sasuke smirked at his brother's lighthearted reference. "I knew you had the bigger ego."

"Let's not talk about egos, Narcissus."

The reply was lost on Sasuke's tongue when Itachi put his arm around him. Sasuke instinctively flinched from the contact. Itachi, noticing the sudden movement, removed his arm and turned to stare at him, squinting to get a better image.

"What's wrong?"

Sasuke was quick to stand up. "I just remembered how late it is. I've got school tomorrow, remember? You should get some sleep, too."

Itachi frowned at his retreating brother. "If this is about what you learned yesterday, I'd prefer if we sat down and talked."

"It's not about yesterday's talk," Sasuke confirmed robotically. His mind was too busy replaying a dark, ominous chuckle to put effort into making emotions. "I'm just tired. Really. Good night."

Itachi was, once again, left to stare at the retreating figure of his brother, no questions answered, no more words exchanged, and no heaviness lifted from his heart. He sighed and rested his forehead on his hand, alone in the room once more.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke did not wake up.

He was already awake.

The Uchiha's night had been spent listening to the sounds from the darkness outside his window. He repeatedly turned over, not because he was having a nightmare with his eyes opened, but because he wanted to constantly remind himself that he was no longer strapped to a bed and awaiting experimentation.

He heard Itachi stand up and go to sleep and then heard him wake up four hours later.

Sasuke sighed for the umpteenth time that night and turned on his side (the one without the throbbing bruise). His eyes could no longer take the strain of seeing. They finally closed –

_Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . ._

_Bzz . . . Bzz . . . BZZ!_

"Damn," he mumbled tiredly, his now-bloodshot eyes opened to see the taunting lights of the alarm clock. His hand groped for the _off_ button several times before finally managing to press it and silence the blaring screech that hurt his sensitive ear drums.

His mind and body were both sluggish and the icy water of the shower could not even push his mind to alertness. He dragged his feet to return to his room and dressed himself in whatever his hands touched, not caring in the least if it was wrinkled; he ended up in faded jeans and a wrinkled white shirt.

A cold, toasted waffle sat alone on the kitchen bar, a cup of orange juice joining its side. Sasuke took the cup and plate to the table and sat down to begin eating. He cocked his head to the side, smirking suddenly.

Written in syrup, fading from absorption, were the words: _Talk to me._

Sasuke ate his waffle quickly.

He packed his homework into his bag slowly along with Sai's folded sweater and searched for his new shoes – but they were missing. He frowned, searching the living room thoroughly, but the box was nowhere to be seen. The shoes, however, were stationed by the door. Sasuke walked to them and bent down to pick them up.

And smiled.

His old shoes had been set aside, their shoelaces missing. The neon orange shoelaces had been laced into the new shoes instead, courtesy of an older Uchiha. Sasuke stared longingly at the orange shoelaces for a while before he slipped the shoes on and stood up, wiggling his toes in discomfort.

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

"One comment!"

"Turn this way!"

"What's it like to be back in school?"

"Is there something else you're hiding?"

Sasuke was in no mood to escape the media. The crowd of reporters and camera-bearing individuals had lessened, but their annoyance was still great. Sasuke kept his head down and tried to move past them like a Hollywood celebrity; they followed him like paparazzi.

"We'd like to get an interview about your transition from rich to poor!"

"What about your leg?"

He was in no mood to scale the side of the building, either, nor did he have the strength to outrun the reporters. He simply waited for the elevator to arrive.

The media, of course, all tried to fit into the elevator with him. Sasuke pointed to the weight limit: four people. And so, there was suddenly a skirmish between the six reporters to see who else would be allowed into the elevator with the Uchiha.

Sasuke clicked the button to close the doors.

And the doors closed.

_Why didn't I do that the first time?_

Not wanting another encounter, he took his usual hidden path to school. He measured every step to make sure his shoes would be broken in by the end of the day; his right foot was already aching with the stiffness of the soles.

Sasuke arrived to Health with a minute before the bell rang. Zabuza ordered him to sit down immediately for the test and so he sat next to Naruto with a simple nod of the head as a greeting.

". . . Your shirt is on backwards," was the blonde's greeting.

Sasuke stared down and found the tag tickling his chin. He grumbled.

"It's in fashion," he mumbled before pulling his arms in and turning his shirt around.

"Okay, what's going on?" Naruto's voice dropped to a whisper. "Are you still thinking about Orochimaru?"

Sasuke cringed at the name and mentally slapped himself for doing so.

"Sasuke!" Naruto hissed. "You can't –"

_WHAM!_

Zabuza's hand suddenly came down upon Naruto's desk, yet Sasuke was the one that jumped. The teacher smiled menacingly.

"Hush, kiddies," he said. "It's time for a test."

Naruto was forced to silence. Sasuke did his best to ignore the blonde's looks as he put a pencil to the test he hadn't studied for.

The Uchiha was the first to finish the test, confident with all of his answers despite never cracking open a textbook. It had been about the human anatomy, something Sasuke memorized at an early age when Itachi had been taking courses in art and had used Sasuke as his model for paintings.

As soon as the bell rung, Sasuke was up and out, Naruto at his heels. Students were still quick to glance at Sasuke to see what they could eye next, what they could look at and gossip about. This time, it was his weak posture and wrinkled clothes – a sign unusual on the cookie-cut teenager.

"I told you Orochimaru did _nothing_," Naruto hissed on the way to Chemistry.

The students moved in crowds through the hallway and Sasuke found himself being pushed closer and closer to other people, arms making contact with his shoulders, knees brushing against his legs, words tickling his ears. Sasuke crossed his arms over his chest, each of his hands gripping the opposite arm.

When Sasuke sat down in the Chemistry classroom, someone's hand came down roughly on his back. The Uchiha jumped and turned around, eyes wide, heart beating wildly, to stare at Kiba.

"Whoa, I didn't mean to surprise you," Kiba said at the expression he was met with.

"He's not feeling well," Naruto offered.

Asuma had them each doing an experiment and so everyone was off to the lab tables. Sasuke sat closest to the wall, Naruto sitting on his only other opened side and Kiba, Shikamaru, Sakura, and Hinata taking up the rest of the seats.

Sasuke held up two vials of liquid, his hands steady and ready to pour them together into a large beaker. Naruto was having trouble at his other side.

"The instructions say to mix the orange with the green, Naruto," Sakura corrected the blond. "Not blue."

"I hate Chemistry," concluded Naruto. He huffed, his bright mood gone with the frustration of science. "So what if I mix orange with blue? It'll look better."

"No, Naruto, wait –!"

Naruto poured both liquids into the beaker. Upon contact, the beaker shattered, sending shards everywhere. A few girls in the class let out a shriek at the sound and everyone at the table ducked, their hands covering their heads instinctively against the projectiles.

"Uzumaki!"

Asuma was at their table in an instant.

"That's a detention."

Naruto grumbled. "I really hate Chemistry."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke was still showing signs of panic as the day progressed. By the time he walked into English during fourth period, the feeling of a single finger tracing his chest was permanent and he could not get Orochimaru's chuckle to leave his mind.

"Yes, Uchiha?"

Kurenai raised a well-groomed eyebrow at the sudden sign of a slender hand rising in the air. She was somewhat surprised at the Uchiha's participation.

"May I leave?"

Slightly taken aback, Kurenai's other eyebrow rose to join its counterpart. "Why?"

"I'm not feeling well."

It wasn't entirely a lie.

Kurenai studied him, trying to decipher if he was telling the truth or not. She concluded that he did, in fact, look rather horrible and she nodded, telling him to stop by the principal to call his brother.

Like he'd stop at the principal.

Sasuke went directly to Kakashi's office.

"Wow," was the silver-haired man's first reaction. "You look . . . pleasant."

"I need another therapy lesson."

Sasuke seemed to be surprising quite a lot of people. Kakashi's eye widened and he stared at his student with a look of utmost incredulity.

"Sorry, I don't think I heard you correctly," he said, still disbelieving. "_You_ came to _me_ to ask for a therapy lesson?"

He was sure it had always been the other way around.

"Anything to stop me from thinking about O– . . ." He sighed. "Orochimaru."

Kakashi frowned.

"Why are you suddenly thinking about him again? Did you see the news?"

Sasuke rubbed his right arm absentmindedly. "In the café yesterday. The reporter was talking about all of the things he was charged with. Kakashi . . . what if he did something to me? I mean, three-fourths of the time I was with him, I was sedated, or knocked out cold. What if he did something to me then?"

"Let me guess. You flinch when people come into contact with you?"

"And I can't get him out of my head!"

Kakashi swiveled in his chair to stare directly at Sasuke, crossing one leg over the other. "If he _did_ do something to you, you would have felt it, wouldn't you?"

"I don't know. I was so drugged up that there's still a possibility. I won't be able to stop thinking about it until I'm positive."

"He didn't do anything."

"You can't be so sure."

Kakashi put a hand to his chin, his frown officially permanent. "You're overreacting about this entire situation. Your brain is so accustomed to the negative side of things that the second a slice of drama comes up, you take it onto your plate without hesitation."

"Thank you, Dr. Deep," Sasuke replied dryly. He hadn't meant to sound rude. "I realize I might be over-thinking it, but what's done is done. It's in my head."

"Do you want to have a checkup? Because frankly, nothing in my therapy can make sure if he did something to you or not. You can only head to Tsunade for a checkup."

Sasuke wanted to.

But then again, he _didn't_ want to.

But he wanted to.

But he _didn't_ want to.

He felt awkward about the situation. He desperately wanted to make sure the ghostly fingers touching his skin were simple traces and nothing more. He desperately wanted to make sure the lips that sent chilling breaths over his skin never made contact.

But how was he going to tell Tsunade that?

_What_ was he going to tell her? That he was afraid something had happened between him and a pedophile? And when he told her that, what would she do?

Uchiha pride a mile wide.

Kakashi seemed to be thinking along the same lines. He sat back, scolding himself for feeling amused at Sasuke's antics in such a situation. "I'll take you personally and explain everything to Tsunade," he said. "And if she'll let you, we'll have you sedated for the checkup."

Sasuke was silent. Never before had he felt so embarrassed, but his mind begged him to agree. He didn't want to have a visible weakness again.

Slowly, ever-so-slowly, he nodded his head.

"Thanks."

"Thank _you_," Kakashi countered, "for realizing when you needed to come to me. Do you want to head back to class, or would you rather hang out here until your lunch detention?"

Sasuke sat back in his beanbag chair and closed his eyes.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Ibiki's room wasn't empty when the Uchiha dragged himself into it. Naruto was sitting there, his bright mood punctured.

"It's chemistry's fault," he was saying. "It's so _pointless_. I mean, biology teaches you something, and physics has math in it, so I'd be happy. But chemistry . . . why am I going to need to learn the periodic table? Is someone going to hold a gun to my head and shoot if I don't balance a freaking equation? I think not!"

Ibiki was rubbing his temples.

"For the last time, shut _up_, Uzumaki! You're in de_tention_!"

"I should've chosen physics. Really, I should have. Oh, Sasuke!"

Naruto finally stopped talking to greet the Uchiha. Ibiki looked up, relief flashing across his face in an instant.

"Peace at last," he said.

Naruto took in the weary state of the Uchiha and finally silenced. Sasuke put his head down on the desk and didn't even bother to ask Ibiki about his latest reading of _My Little Pony._

Forty-five minutes later, the bell was his alarm clock. His brain turned back on after his light sleep and he heard Naruto whispering his name. The blond was trying his best not to make any contact with Sasuke.

"It's time for P.E.," he said. "Are you sure you're up for it?"

Sasuke smirked. "It's my entertainment."

Naruto noticed Sasuke's new sneakers on the walk to the locker room. He grinned. "New shoes?"

"For the marathon," was all the Uchiha supplied, killing any chances of conversation.

He was greeted by the usual boys in the room as he pushed his backpack into a random locker. When Sai appeared, Sasuke remembered the boy's sweater and pulled it out.

"I hope you enjoyed it," was the cheery response.

Sasuke backed away slowly.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the coffin," Neji commented with a hint of wit.

Sasuke turned to stare at him, watching the boy gather his hair into a neat ponytail. "You'd look the same if someone stole your conditioner."

Naruto broke into a bout of laughter and pointed at the Hyuuga. "He's right on!" he exclaimed. "He's only known you for a few months and can already tell your greatest weakness!"

Neji kicked Naruto harshly and pretended it was the wind. Naruto knew wind couldn't kick that hard.

Gai was bounding around with basketballs in the gymnasium. He spun a ball on his finger, pushed it into the air, did a pirouette, stopped, and caught the still-spinning ball on his finger once more.

"Watching that youthful game of football yesterday, I decided to play the more spiritual basketball!"

Sasuke inwardly groaned. He was in no mood to run with any sort of ball, nor did he think he would be able to dodge every foul that Akira would certainly try to put on him. Wearing jeans probably wasn't the best idea, either.

Speaking of the devil, Akira stood off to the side, eyeing Sasuke carefully. When the Uchiha's obsidian orbs met Akira's, the latter sneered viciously.

The teams were kept as they were the previous class with no players left over for substitutes. Lee, the tallest of the boys, stood in front of Akira to take the jump ball.

"Are you sure you should be playing?" Naruto quickly whispered before the whistle blew.

"Has there ever been a time when my answer changed?"

_PHOOOOOT!_

The ball was thrown up, Lee's hand made contact first, and the next thing Sasuke knew, the basketball was being hurtled towards his face.

The Uchiha's hands reacted quickly to grab the ball before it touched his nose. His legs followed suit and suddenly he was running. Akira was quick to run after him.

"Uchiha!"

Neji was open. Sasuke quickly passed the ball to him, hoping for Akira to change his course of direction, but the boy stayed manning Sasuke.

The points were being scored fairly quickly, with the Uchiha never going up to the basket to Akira's dismay. Every time Sasuke had the ball, he was quick to pass it off before Akira had the chance to steal it from him.

But the boy's chance finally came when Sasuke was the only one with the ball and everyone else was guarded by the defense. Having no other option, Sasuke ran with the ball down the court.

And Akira was right behind him.

It was a simple hit. Sasuke raised his arms to shoot the ball into the net, leaving his sides exposed and vulnerable to Akira's boney elbow. Sasuke felt the pain and rather than jumping up and letting the ball sail, he collapsed to one knee and let the ball fall limply from his grasp. He bent over his raised knee and wrapped his arms tightly around his chest.

Gai blew his whistle. "Akira! Such a foul is unsightly!"

"Son of a . . ."

The words died on Sasuke's lips as he groaned in pain. Akira had known exactly where to hit him: on his bruise.

"Can you get up?" Naruto asked him, resting a hand on Sasuke's back.

Sasuke was too busy being blinded by pain to remember Orochimaru. He bit his lip and nodded his head as he slowly stood up, refusing to be out of the game. Akira smirked triumphantly from a corner of the court.

Chouji was given the free throws seeing as Sasuke was unable to lift up his arms without giving himself pain. The tubby boy – the best free thrower on the team – managed to make both shots in with two clean swishes of the net, and playing resumed.

Sasuke tried his best to stay away from the ball, and those who knew of his bruise tried their best to help, but Akira had his second chance with five minutes left of the game when Sasuke was put in the same situation.

Not wanting the team to lose because of him, Sasuke did not hesitate to take off running.

"Get open!" he heard Naruto shout to the team as he ran down the court, but no one could give Sasuke an opportunity.

Akira was right behind him.

Again.

_Run, run, run damn it!_ Sasuke pushed himself, but he was _too tired_ and his jeans were rubbing painfully against his thighs and the world was beginning to spin –

_DOM!_

Body met body and the next thing Sasuke knew, he was flying and the waxed floor came up to meet him – _hard_. He let out a scream of agony upon impact and wrapped his arms around himself.

Gai's sparkling smile lost its sparkle.

"Akira!" he said, pulling the boy to the side. His face was set with foreign graveness. "This is not street ball. That was completely out of line!"

"Sasuke, hey, Sasuke!" Naruto was shouting by the Uchiha. "Can you look at me? Is anything broken?"

"Calm down, Naruto," Neji said. His skilled hands turned Sasuke onto his back.

Sasuke had his eyes clenched tightly, his arms refusing to let go of his chest that seared in pain and flared up in a burning fire of agony. His legs, feeling useless, stomped against the floor in an attempt to let out some of the pain, but it was no use.

"Give him space!"

Gai was back after making sure Akira was on his way to the principal's office. He moved through the sudden crowd of students and knelt down by Sasuke.

"I need to see your injury, Sasuke," he said. "If you would please move your arms."

Sasuke complied almost immediately. He was desperate to do anything to stop the pain. Gai lifted up his shirt and cringed.

"Oh, ouch . . ." one boy said. Another hissed.

The bruise hand grown from Sasuke's side to his ribs. It was sickeningly purple-yellowish in hue.

"How is it?" the Uchiha ground out, his eyes still closed.

"Can you stand up?"

Gai and Naruto extended their hands for Sasuke to grab and they helped get him into somewhat of a standing position. He leaned heavily onto Naruto for support.

"I want you to take him directly to the nurse," said Gai. "I will be there to check up on him as soon as I finish with Akira. Class is dismissed."

Neji lent his support to the Uchiha and the three boys left the gym behind the rest of the students. Sasuke's breathing was heavily labored.

"Do you think you broke something?" Naruto asked worriedly as they finally entered the school hallways. He tried to hurry; the bell would ring in a few minutes and he didn't want Sasuke to face the hustle and bustle of students running for the school doors to freedom.

Sasuke managed to shake his head. "Get Kakashi," he strained to say.

"I'll get him," Neji offered.

Kabuto was at the door, smiling cheerfully. His smile, however, vanished the second his eyes were cast upon Sasuke's body.

"O-oh," he stuttered. "Right this way."

Neji left when he made sure Sasuke was properly on the bed. Naruto explained the situation to Kabuto as the nurse looked over Sasuke's body.

"Well . . ." Kabuto began. His hands shook as they brushed against Sasuke's torso. "He hasn't really – there's no – I don't think –"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the bizarre actions of the nurse who seemed almost nervous to have the Uchiha beneath his hands. "Are you feeling okay today?"

"I'm fine, Naruto."

Kabuto managed a weak smile and brushed stray hairs from his eyes. His quivering hands returned to Sasuke's bruise.

"There is definitely a lot of internal bleeding," he managed to say in a calmer tone. His finger pressed lightly into Sasuke's rib and the Uchiha let out a scream of agony. Kabuto flinched. "And one of his ribs is loose."

Kakashi entered, looking mildly surprised and interested.

"Hello, Kabuto," he said lightly. "Neji told me Sasuke was in here."

"Yes, well, yes, yes."

Ignoring the strange acting of the nurse, Kakashi stood over Sasuke and clucked his tongue in disapproval.

"I'm sorry to take a patient off of your hands, Kabuto, but Sasuke and I were going to go visit Lady Tsunade after school anyway, so would you mind if I just checked him over all in one go?"

Kabuto seemed relieved. "No, no, go ahead!" he said. "It's quite alright!"

"Sasuke, I'm going to pick you up now," said Kakashi. "Tell me if I'm hurting you."

The Uchiha grit his teeth as Kakashi slid his hands beneath him to pick him up into a bride's carry, but the pain had not greatened. Sasuke let his head loll to rest on the older man's chest as Kakashi waited by the door.

"I think most of the students are gone," the silver-haired man said as he listened for any commotion. "Thank you for your hospitality, Kabuto."

"No, no, thank _you."_

Naruto sent a questioning glance to his teacher when they were out of the school and moving towards Kakashi's Jeep®. "Why are you going to Granny's?"

"Checkup," Sasuke ground out for Kakashi.

"Finally!"

"Oh, so he told you as well? Who hasn't he told?"

"Don't tell Itachi." Sasuke tried to pry his eyes opened so that the statement could have more force, but he failed and succumbed to the pain. "Please don't tell him. I don't want him to think about it."

"My lips are sealed."

Kakashi pulled back the passenger seat all the way so that it was completely horizontal and gently eased Sasuke onto it. Naruto sat by Sasuke's head in the backseat.

"You know," the blond told the brunette, "you really have to stop being the one getting hurt. I need to get hurt at least once so that _you_ can be the one running for help."

"Idiot," Sasuke said. "Don't jinx yourself."

Sasuke allowed Kakashi to pick him up once more, too tired to get out of the car himself and walk. They entered the hospital and Shizune was there to greet him.

"You're lucky," the receptionist said with a smile. "Tsunade is free at the moment."

Sasuke groaned at the familiarity of the office bed he was put on. Tsunade turned to him.

"I knew he had been out of the hospital for too long," she teased. "What is it this time? Migraine? Knee tension?"

Kakashi lifted up Sasuke's shirt.

"Damn!"

Tsunade reached into the cabinet in her office and pulled out a large roll of bandages and a tube of ointment, rushing to Sasuke's side immediately.

"For Heaven's sake, Sasuke, you've really got to stop getting hurt. Your body isn't a punching bag."

"Some people think it is," the Uchiha could not help but reply.

Tsunade prodded his ribs to his agony. When she was satisfied, she rubbed the ointment over the entirety of the bruise and covered his torso in bandages. "No rigorous labor. No raising your arms for the next twenty-four hours. I want you in bed and not moving, do you hear me?"

"Lady Tsunade, there's something else," Kakashi began.

Sasuke groaned once more, except this groan was to hide embarrassment at his situation. Kakashi went into explanation of what Sasuke wanted to do, telling Tsunade about the impact of Orochimaru's news report.

Tsunade's expression was neutral by the end of it. "I really think you're overreacting about the entire ordeal, but if it'll help you out then yes, I'll be glad to give you a checkup."

"Sedation?" the Uchiha asked. "Can you sedate me for the process?"

"That's really not necessary –"

"Please?"

Tsunade stared at Sasuke for a few moments, deciding. Finally, she sighed. "Fine," she said. "But you'll be out for a while."

"I'll bring him home," Kakashi offered.

"Great. Now get out." Tsunade opened the door and pointed into the hallway. "This'll take an hour."

Kakashi pushed Naruto from the room with the promise of taking him out for ice cream. Tsunade closed the door and turned to grab a sedation needle and an alcoholic rub from her cabinet. She advanced upon the resting Uchiha and pinned his arm down by his wrist.

"I'm putting the needle in, okay?"

She didn't wait for an answer before she let the tip of the needle pierce through the pallid flesh of his arm. Sasuke hissed as he felt the liquid enter his veins. A few seconds later and the room spun, except this time, Sasuke knew he wasn't going to fall. The world simply turned over and rolled him off instead.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke woke up to darkness and muffled voices. He sat up suddenly, alarmed. From the familiar bed he lay on, he found that he was no longer in the hospital and that he had been out for quite some time. The door to his room was closed and there were several sets of voices coming from behind it.

_What happened?_ he thought to himself as he swung his legs over his bed. _Is everything over? Wasn't I just in the hospital?_

His hands roamed over his body briefly, feeling for anything new. He found the hollow of his elbow covered in a large bandage, but nothing more.

"Don't worry, Kakashi."

It was Itachi's voice. Sasuke turned back to give his clock a fleeting glance. It was still nine.

"Doc said it was only temporary."

Sasuke hurried to the door at the sound of the vaguely familiar voice. He opened it and peeked out. Four people were in the room: Kakashi, Itachi, Deidara, and Tobi. Itachi was being led to the couch by Deidara.

"Itachi?" Sasuke called out.

All attention was suddenly turned the younger Uchiha as he walked into the living room. Itachi turned to him as well, but there was something wrong with his glance. It took Sasuke a second to figure it out: Itachi's eyes were staring in his direction, but they weren't quite meeting his face.

"Are you _blind?"_

Deidara groaned. Kakashi put a hand to his face. Tobi . . . was a mystery with his mask on. Itachi, however, held up his hands defensively.

"Now, now, Sasuke. Don't overreact."

"You're _blind?!"_

Sasuke was in front of his brother in an instant, waving his hand wildly in front of his face. Itachi frowned.

"I can feel that, you know. Don't worry. I already made a visit to Tsunade. She said it's temporary – no more than twenty-four hours."

"You're _blind!"_

"I think we've already established that, kid," Deidara said dryly, rolling his eyes.

Sasuke didn't know what to think. It was so sudden. So bizarre. So _random!_ Itachi sat down, frowning and rubbing his eyes.

"What happened?" was the main question on Sasuke's mind.

"If you don't mind, Itachi, Tobi and I are going to head back and tell the boss the news, a'ight?"

Itachi nodded and thanked them, turning to stare in their general direction. He turned back to Sasuke when he heard the door open and close.

"My eyesight had been getting worse for a few days now," he explained. "But –"

"Wait, what?" Sasuke interrupted. "It's been getting worse? Why didn't you tell me?"

"You haven't exactly been around to tell."

Silence.

Sasuke sat down, feeling terrible. Itachi had said it monotonously, but Sasuke could hear the faintest hint of anger laced between the true words. He remembered seeing his brother continuously flinch the previous night and wondered if he would have said something had Sasuke not gone to sleep.

"But I wasn't going to get glasses just yet because I was trying to pay for the electricity," Itachi continued anyway. "And I started getting these incredibly horrible migraines. During work today, I had a particularly painful one and the next thing I know, the world is dark and no matter how many times I blink, it's still pitch black.

"So Deidara and Tobi helped me to Lady Tsunade and she diagnosed me with a rare migraine and told me nausea and temporary blindness were common symptoms for it. It really isn't too much to fuss about." **[2]**

"So you'll need glasses?" asked Kakashi, not fazed in the slightest by Itachi's sudden loss of sight.

"Yes, I'm turning completely farsighted. A rather annoying hassle, but there really isn't much to do about it. Come to think of it, Sasuke, Lady Tsunade told me she had just sent you home."

"She was helping me out with a bruise on my chest," Sasuke quickly replied. The Uchiha turned to Kakashi, his eyes clearly telling the older man to keep silent about the other half of the truth.

"I should be heading home, unless you'd like me to stay and help?"

"Thank you for the offer, Kakashi, but I can use Sasuke as my crutch."

Sasuke stopped Kakashi just before he could leave the house. "What did Tsunade say?"

"The results will be out tomorrow," was the immediate reply.

"I want you to train me tomorrow. Physical. The entire day."

"Even with that bruise of yours?"

"_Because_ of this bruise of mine."

Kakashi mock-saluted Sasuke and closed the door on a broken teenager and a blind man.

"Come here, Sasuke," Itachi told his younger brother, his hands reaching out to grab the smaller figure. "I need you to guide me to my room. I am not in the mood to grope blindly for the nearest table."

Sasuke obediently complied and allowed his brother to rest a hand on his shoulder. "I bet your migraines are something stress- and health-related."

"Dead on."

"Obviously."

Silence.

". . . Does it . . . feel weird? . . . Being temporarily blinded?"

Itachi shrugged lightly and frowned. "It surprised me at first, but it's like walking around with your eyes closed. A bit strange, I must admit."

"Were you scared?"

Sasuke knew if he suddenly opened his eyes to a permanent blindness, he would immediately begin panicking. He tried imagining his brother panicking but could not. Itachi cocked his head to the side in thought.

"Honestly?"

"Yes.

"A little."

Silence.

"So why were you really at Tsunade's?"

Sasuke wasn't surprised that his brother was able to figure out that he wasn't telling the entire truth. He silenced and led Itachi to his bed before bending down to grab his brother's bedtime shorts (the older Uchiha preferred to sleep topless) and throwing them at his head.

Itachi smirked and caught the shorts before they could reach his head. He grabbed the hem of his shirt and pulled it from his torso before speaking with an air of knowledge.

"I'm assuming it has something to do with Orochimaru."

_Now_ Sasuke was surprised.

He turned around sharply to stare as Itachi casually took off his pants. "Who told you?"

"Come on, Sasuke." Itachi fell back onto his bed and stared blindly at the ceiling. "I'm not obliviously dumb. I saw the news. And the day Orochimaru is mentioned again, you just happen to start acting strangely? What did you go to Lady Tsunade for?"

His voice held more demand that forced Sasuke to reply. The younger Uchiha sat down on the bed next to Itachi and sighed heavily, his bruise pulsing in numbed pain. He spilled everything to his brother much like he did to Kakashi and to Tsunade.

"So I'm waiting for the results now," he finished.

Itachi pulled him down so that he lay on his back next to him, staring at the chipping ceiling. He put an arm around the younger one's shoulders and this time, Sasuke did not flinch. Sasuke lay there, waiting, expecting Itachi to tell him something, but Itachi did not speak. He did not say anything for a long time.

Confused, Sasuke turned to him. Itachi's unseeing eyes had closed and his mouth had parted slightly to let soft, even breaths into the air. Sasuke wiggled out slowly from beneath Itachi's arm and left his room to stand in the middle of the living room.

He closed his eyes against the dim lights of the candles. He wanted to know what it felt like to be blind; he had never thought about it before. But when darkness was all he could see even though he knew he was still conscious and had just been able to see moments ago, a slight hint of panic rose in his chest and he quickly opened his eyes.

He didn't think he could ever handle being blind, no. He didn't know how Itachi could take it so calmly; perhaps it was the knowledge that it was simply temporary, but Sasuke thought he'd need someone to knock him unconscious to survive the time.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

When Sasuke woke up to his alarm clock the next morning, he knew his day would be unusual. He groped for the _off_ button much like he'd done before. After a loud _crack_, he sat up wearily and rubbed his eyes.

_Right. Itachi?_ were the first thoughts on his mind as he fixed his prosthetic into place and sauntered from the room.

Itachi was sitting up, the bed sheets pooled around his bare waist as he leaned forwards, his eyes opened and unblinking.

"Can you see?"

Itachi finally blinked.

"No."

Panic rose in Sasuke's chest at once. "Itachi, what if it's permanent?!"

"Relax, Sasuke. It's only been about nine hours. Tsunade said the maximum was twenty-four hours."

He groped for the railing of the bed so that he could stand up, but Sasuke moved his hands away. "You shouldn't get out of bed," he said. "Not like that. I don't want you tripping all over the place."

"I'm not about to stay in bed all day. I'm going to need to get up to eat at some point."

"No, you won't." Sasuke turned away from his brother to enter the bathroom, saying over his shoulder, "Because I'm not leaving."

"You're skipping a day of school?"

"Yes."

"Simply because I can't see?"

"Yes."

"That is absolutely ridiculous."

"Hey, you work all day for me, and you pass out for me, and you waited on me hand and foot in the hospital, so the least I can do is skip _one_ day of school to help you out."

Sasuke bent over the sink to quickly wash his face and teeth before returning to Itachi's room. Itachi was roaming around, feeling the walls for the door. He turned in Sasuke's general direction when he felt the younger one's presence.

"I'm blind, Sasuke, not paralyzed. Get ready for school. I'll be fine."

As if to support Sasuke and prove his point, Itachi's thigh connected harshly with the sharp edge of his desk. He jerked forward with an expression of utmost pain on his face and hissed.

"Back in bed, Itachi. I'll make breakfast."

"I'm the older one. I should be taking care of _you_."

"Back. In. Bed."

Sasuke pushed his brother and Itachi was forced to comply, following Sasuke's guiding hands lest he bump into another sharp edge.

The world was still dark to the older Uchiha. He kept himself calm knowing that Sasuke was the only other person in the house. He listened to Sasuke leave him in silence with the promise of returning with breakfast.

He sighed.

_At least he wasn't alone for a while._

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke spent the rest of the day sitting by Itachi's side with a bag of pretzel sticks and a pencil and paper. The Uchiha brothers were on their thirty-third game of Tic Tac Toe.

"I win again!" exclaimed Sasuke . . . for the thirty-third time.

Itachi threw his pencil down. "How would I know if I won or not? I can't see the paper!"

"That's exactly the point."

Itachi reached over to try and flick Sasuke on the head, but Sasuke ducked from his reach and gave a short laugh.

"You missed school to annoy me for seven hours?"

"It's a Friday. No big deal. I already called Kakashi." Sasuke shoved another pretzel stick into his mouth. "And this way, I don't have to meet anyone, and I'll be following Tsunade's orders by resting for my bruise. A win-win situation."

"Right. Just like when you gave me burning-hot tea and told me it was orange juice in a warm cup."

"And you believed it!"

". . . I thought I could trust you . . ."

Itachi pretended to look disheartened. Sasuke cocked his head to the side in surprise; it looked like Itachi was pouting. But he deemed it a trick of the light when the pout was gone.

"It doesn't matter. School's been over for fifteen ago."

Itachi wasn't angry at his brother for missing an entire day of school; rather, he was grateful. He had finally been able to speak to his little brother about what went on during school, about what went on with Naruto, with Kakashi, with the café – with _everything_. For once, he wasn't coming home to a sleeping little brother and waking up to a sleeping little brother.

His head suddenly turned to the side, his sightless eyes staring out of his doorway to the main door of the apartment.

"What is it?"

"Someone's coming."

His voice was stern and even, his eyes still staring. Sasuke turned to stare as well, confused. He was about to open his mouth to tell him that no, no one was coming, but there came a sudden flurry of knocking at the door.

_KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!_

"Sasuke!"

It was Naruto's voice that yelled from the other side of the door; he sounded surprised and excited.

"Kabuto's been arrested!"

-----------------------------------------------

**[1] "I'm not gay, Kisame.": **Sorry, yaoi lovers! A confession!

**[2] Rare migraine: **Very, very true. I did my research, but the name has escaped me. It started with a B. Look it up if you're interested, with "symptoms of temporary blindness" as keywords.


	23. Animals

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto . . . I'd skip over the damned Three Tails arc!

**Author's Note:** Ugh. It took my computer so long to upload this document.

Well, it's been a shitty month. Old drama resurfaced that I tried to ignore. One-sided karma bit me - _hard -_ even though I didn't do anything wrong to deserve it. I'm working on an hour of sleep.

But this story is really the highlight of the whole damn week.

Enjoy, people. Packed with tidbits of humor for your (and my) relief.

**Chapter 23  
**…**:::Animals:::…  
****Nickelback**

"Kabuto's been arrested!"

Sasuke ran for the door. He wrenched it open and Naruto came tumbling in, falling to the floor immediately. A flurry of camera flashes followed; Sasuke quickly slammed the door shut and helped Naruto stand.

"Wait, wait, what?" Sasuke demanded of the blond. "What happened?"

Naruto seemed unsure whether to smile in excitement or to crease his brows at the news. He chose a somewhat lopsided frowning grin.

"The second the last bell rings, we hear sirens during Chemistry!" he exclaimed as Sasuke led him over to the couch.

Naruto gave a quick nod in Itachi's direction for a greeting, too entranced with his own storytelling to notice anything wrong.

"And it's the police! The teachers are all trying to get us to stay in the classrooms, but school's over, so we run out to see what's going on and the cops are all running into Kabuto's office and he comes out in handcuffs!"

"_Why_?" Sasuke pressed.

"I don't know! I came straight from school to here so I didn't have time to check the news, and no one was covering the story on the radio. But Kakashi is definitely going to know, and he said he was coming over today to help you train, so we should ask him."

"He was acting really jumpy yesterday, remember?" said Sasuke. "He probably knew they would be coming for him."

"Oh man, this is so weird!" Naruto could not contain his excitement at the dramatic situation. "I never really suspected Kabuto to be arrested for anything."

Finally calming down, he glanced in Itachi's direction. The older Uchiha did not glance back.

"Kakashi told me you were kind of . . . temporarily blinded."

Itachi turned to stare in Naruto's general direction at last and smirked, his eyes closing. "Kind of," he mocked good-naturedly.

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. Do you know when it'll go away?"

"No."

Feeling awkward at the sudden kill of conversation, Naruto turned to Sasuke for support. Sasuke changed the subject to the school day in general and the blond was happy to comply.

Itachi stood up half an hour later, his expression neutral. He said he was going to rest in bed for a while.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"Just a little tired. It's nothing to worry about."

Sasuke frowned at his brother's retreating figure nonetheless.

Almost instantly after Itachi disappeared, the door opened to blinding lights and a deafening drone of chatter.

"Me no es speak English," came a familiar voice. "Hatake, move your ass." **[1]**

Kisame and Kakashi entered the Uchiha household, the latter giving the former a very strange look.

"You don't speak English, yet you can cuss me out with perfect pronunciation?"

"One reporter was too busy eyeing your package to notice, so shut up."

Kisame seemed to suddenly remember that there were other people in the room and he turned around, grinning at Naruto and Sasuke, his arms sweeping open.

"Chicken butt!" he exclaimed. "And Blondie's here, too!" He ruffled Naruto's hair and flicked Sasuke on the ear, his grin showing two rows of pointed teeth. "Where's the older grouch? I heard he's not feeling well."

"Resting in his room," Sasuke replied with a smirk.

He turned to Kakashi when Kisame disappeared. The silver-haired man had a duffel bag slung over one shoulder and a piece of paper in his hands; he put the bag down and handed the paper to Sasuke.

"I'll be checking up on Itachi," he said. "Try not to get too excited."

Naruto could not help his curiosity and so he leaned over Sasuke's shoulder, reading the professionally-stamped paper. Sasuke was quick to take in the words that stood out in black ink.

It was his medical report.

"I told you!" Naruto exclaimed suddenly. His eyes had immediately caught the first few words and the bolded result:

Negative.

Sasuke's eyes chose to read in depth. He looked over every detail, every test, and every result.

Negative.

Negative.

Negative.

A sticky note was posted on the back. Curvy purple words teased him: _You worry wart._

Sasuke breathed a sigh of relief and leaned into the couch. He rubbed his chest where the ghost of Orochimaru's finger had once been permanently placed.

It was no longer there.

In Itachi's room, Kisame and Kakashi were leaning over the older Uchiha. Itachi was groaning softly, rubbing at his temples.

"You don't want an aspirin or something?" asked Kisame.

"No, no, just . . ."

Itachi broke off his sentence in favor of rubbing his temples roughly. He squeezed his eyes shut and let another groan escape his lips. When he opened his eyes again, he frowned.

"Don't say anything," he said slowly, "but I can see again."

"You can _what_ –?!"

Kakashi clamped a hand over Kisame's mouth swiftly, his eyes glancing at the door to see if Sasuke had heard. Confirming that no one had overheard, Kakashi lowered his hand and turned to stare critically at Itachi.

"Why aren't you happy about it?" he asked.

Itachi rubbed his eyes, his vision somewhat blurry and not adjusting to the dim lighting. "Don't tell Sasuke."

"Why not?"

Kakashi was patient, watching Itachi sigh and sink back into the bed, his long fingers still rubbing at his temples.

"It's complicated."

"Try me."

"I want Sasuke to stay."

Short. Simple. Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the lack of complication and at the out of character reaction of the Uchiha.

"You want Sasuke to stay?"

"I didn't stutter."

"The kid's not going anywhere," Kisame supplied.

Itachi shook his head. "Ever since he got back from the hospital, he's always been off to that café of his, or to Naruto's house to talk, or to your house," he told Kakashi. "And now, I finally get a small chance to talk to him, and he won't leave if he thinks I'm still blind. So just let me pretend I'm blind for a while longer."

"To keep Sasuke looking after you," Kakashi added, understanding the twisted concept.

"Yes."

Kisame smiled goofily. "That is probably the gooiest thing you've ever said!" he cooed. "Feelings for your brother?"

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Gooiest?"

Itachi shot Kisame a nasty glance. "Shut up, Kisame."

"Sasuke will be angry if he found out, you know. _Really_ angry," Kakashi continued when Itachi's eyes were staring into his. "This is risky."

"He won't find out."

"Your ideas are usually better than this."

"It's just for a few more hours, Kakashi. I doubt much will go wrong in a few hours."

Kakashi sighed, frowning. He knew Itachi had the right intentions, but he thought the way the Uchiha was going about it was all wrong.

"Okay," he finally said, unconvinced. "I guess the greatest learn from their mistakes, too."

Itachi turned on his side and closed his eyes, feeling the dull pain of an oncoming headache. Kakashi left to return to Sasuke; Kisame stayed, watching over Itachi and shooting the occasional lame joke.

"How is he?" was the first sentence out of Sasuke's mouth when Kakashi reentered the living room.

"Headaches again, but he'll be fine."

_I didn't lie,_ Kakashi thought to himself as he walked to his duffel bag. _I just didn't tell the whole truth._

"So do you finally believe me that Orochimaru did nothing?"

Sasuke grimaced. "I knew it all along. I just wanted to make sure," he said, trying to maintain his dignity.

Naruto wouldn't let him have it. "Yeah, right! You were _this_ close to a panic attack yesterday," he said, holding his thumb and index finger a millimeter apart.

Sasuke punched him in the shoulder and used Neji's excuse, telling the blond the wind had blown in fiercely. Naruto punched him in return.

The brunette turned towards Kakashi, who was bent over his duffel bag and rummaging through it, and remembered what Naruto had come for.

"Kakashi, why did Kabuto get arrested?"

Kakashi addressed Naruto instead. "You already told him? Did you come straight here just to tell him?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck, grinning awkwardly. "Actually, yeah. I have to head to the café in a few minutes. Sorry, Sasuke."

"I'm training, anyway." Sasuke eyed the jump rope and resistance bands Kakashi was pulling out of the duffel bag, smirking. "And Kakashi, don't change the subject."

"Caught me, did you?"

The silver-haired man stood up straight, brushing imaginary dust from his knees. He stared at Sasuke for a few moments as if gathering the words and forming sentences in his head.

"Kabuto had an affiliation with Orochimaru," he finally said rather casually before turning to speak to Naruto. "I don't suppose you happen to remember when you were in Kabuto's office after that incident in the locker room that revealed Sasuke's leg?"

Sasuke tried not to think about it. Naruto remembered clearly, however. He suddenly felt a stinging pain behind his ear that came from the fall he had taken that day. He nodded his head.

"Remember when Kabuto went to make a call and left for me to talk to you?" **[2]**

Nod.

"He was calling Orochimaru to tell him about Sasuke's prosthetic leg."

The links clicked in Sasuke's mind suddenly.

"Kabuto was like Orochimaru's spy," he said. "And since he was a nurse, he'd be sure to come across kids with prosthetics, so that day, he found out I had a prosthetic leg."

"Bingo." Kakashi tossed the jump rope at Sasuke before continuing to speak. "And he was in charge of plans for experimentation. But since he never participated in any of it himself, he gets four years in prison. Maybe less for good behavior.

"I liked Kabuto," he finally concluded. "Good man. Bad choices. And I still owe him four strawberry wafers."

Sasuke stood up to get his mind off of the Orochimaru situation. He weighed the jump rope in his hands and shot a questioning glance to his mentor. "May we start?"

"You know the drill. Right foot, left foot, both feet, no hops in between. One hundred each for now."

Naruto stood up as well. "I should get going to the café anyways. You should head there when you're done. I'd like to hear a performance of yours tonight."

"It'll probably be a long night," Sasuke said before he immediately jumped into his exercise routine. He stood in the middle of the living room with the jump rope, wincing every time his arms rose to swing the rope over his head.

"Give Itachi my concerns," Naruto said before parting with a goodbye.

Sasuke stopped jumping abruptly, remembering his brother. He dragged the jump rope behind him as he left for Itachi's room.

"Hey, hey, don't mess up the routine!" Kakashi called, but Sasuke continued on without hearing him.

Kisame was telling Itachi a story about carrots when Sasuke entered and sat on the edge of Itachi's bed.

"Any better?"

"Not quite," Itachi said, not daring to open his eyes. "Are you training now?"

"Yeah, but I can stop if you're hungry or something. Do you want me to order anything?"

Itachi smirked. "I'm fine, Sasuke. Just keep training. I'll be okay."

Kakashi pulled on the back of Sasuke's shirt. "Just get training and you can talk to him later."

"I'll finish up the jump ropes and then come."

"No, you'll finish up the resistance band exercises and _then_ you'll be free," said Kakashi as he managed to drag Sasuke from the room. "I thought you wanted to win this marathon."

"I need to make sure Itachi can _see_ me win the marathon first."

Sasuke picked up the jump rope once more and resumed his routine with Kakashi watching him to count the steps.

"Your stamina decreased," Kakashi commented when Sasuke switched to jumping with both his feet.

"This bruise is killing me."

Sasuke made a mental note to slam Akira into the ground during their next game – even if it was golf, he didn't care; he would run forward with his putter and whack the boy across the face with it before blaming it on the wind.

"No, you can't hurt Akira," Kakashi said, smirking.

Sasuke's eyes widened. "Oh, so you can read minds now?"

"You're getting predictable. Gai told me what happened. Akira has a few after school detentions for deliberately hurting you."

"Just a few after school detentions?" Sasuke practically whined as he finished jumping. A thin sheen of sweat covered his face. "That asshole needs a lot more than a few after school detentions."

"Don't do anything drastic before the marathon. I don't want you in the hospital again."

Sasuke smirked, his eyes dancing with sadistic mirth. "Don't worry," he said. "I won't do anything drastic."

Kakashi's exercises carried on for the next hour. Sasuke was getting restless. He wanted to rest to sit with Itachi, but Kakashi wouldn't let him. The silver-haired man continued to give Sasuke one exercise after the next with the resistance bands.

"On your back."

Sasuke went on his back and quickly did the instructed exercises.

"Knees up."

He put his knees up.

"Butt down."

Butt down.

"Elbows out."

"Kakashi, you're killing me."

Sasuke released the resistance bands and doubled over, breathless. The dull throb of his bruise had become a numbing pain by then. Kakashi bent down next to him.

"That bruise of yours is really bringing you down. You can't have your stamina raised unless it's gone. You shouldn't be worn out by these exercises."

"Easy for you to say," the Uchiha spat as he turned to lie on his back. "You get to sit there and tell me what to do."

"I don't want you killing my little brother, Hatake."

Itachi was there, standing a few meters away with his hand on Kisame's shoulder for feigned support and his eyes closed. His steps had been silent.

"I don't have to do too much to achieve that. Sasuke kind of helps himself."

"Still blind?" asked Sasuke, ignoring Kakashi in favor of focusing all his attention on his brother.

Itachi changed the subject immediately. "I'm ordering dinner. Does anyone want something in particular?"

"Let me order."

Sasuke reached for the phone, but Itachi had unlatched himself from Kisame and was maneuvering over the floor with one hand on the walls and the other groping in front of him.

"Nonsense, Sasuke. I can still use the phone."

"Just let me do it and stop moving before you hurt yourself."

But Itachi kept moving anyway, his eyes shut tight but his mind sure of the way around the house. He had memorized every inch.

. . . As long as there wasn't something new on the floor.

And Kakashi's duffel bag was definitely something new.

Itachi's leg found itself colliding against something unknown and in surprise, his eyes fluttered open as the other occupants of the room exclaimed shouts of warning. He put his arms out before him just before he reached the ground and broke his own fall.

The table beside him rattled dangerously. A painting set precariously on its surface shook tauntingly. To fall or not to fall, it thought. It decided in a split second that it didn't like Itachi for placing it so insecurely on the table and so it fell, fell to the ground.

But Itachi's hand deftly reached out to grab it before it could graze the floor.

And Sasuke did not miss his frightening accuracy.

"How did you catch that?" he asked, and he hoped the answer in his head wasn't right.

Itachi turned around to face him, unable to bring himself to utter an excuse. He closed his eyes, but he felt Sasuke's hands on his chest suddenly.

"Itachi," his brother's voice demanded from close by, "open your eyes."

And so he opened them.

And his eyes locked directly onto Sasuke's angry obsidian orbs.

"The fall healed him?" Kisame squeaked from the side, trying to support his comrade to no avail.

The hands on Itachi's chest grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and the older Uchiha braced himself for the storm that would hit.

"You're _not_ blind?!"

"No, I'm not," Itachi replied with a steady voice.

Sasuke only grew angrier at his brother's indifference and unwavering gaze.

"Were you faking the whole thing?! How long have you been seeing?!"

"An hour, I suppose. I don't count these things."

"I can't _believe_ you!"

Sasuke released his brother and in his rage he did not know what to do. He could only grow angrier and angrier, his mind seething with fury.

"What is with you and lying to me all the time? Why would you lie about something like this?! About something as important as you being blind?!"

"Come on, Sasuke!" Itachi snapped back, his voice finally gaining volume. "What was I supposed to do? We barely see each other!"

"You lied to me."

"_You_ lied to _me_ plenty of times. Simply because I am the older brother does not make me perfect! You cannot honestly expect me to go through my entire life without making a single mistake."

Kakashi and Kisame felt rather awkward as they watched the two brothers bicker. They exchanged uneasy glances before taking their seats on the couch.

"But lying to me about being blind? Are you insane? I was worried about you."

"That's why I lied."

Sasuke closed his mouth unsurely. "You lied because I was worried about you?" he repeated, trying his best to inject venom into the question.

"We don't see each other anymore at all. I'm always at work, or you're at the café, or Naruto's, or I'm asleep, or unconscious, or you are, too. And then when we finally have this life-changing conversation, you go over to Naruto's instead of staying to talk with me, and then you _never_ spoke about it again. And when I was blind, you stayed home to talk, and I just wanted to talk a little more, and the only way to get you to stay was to continue with my sightless self."

Sasuke's anger deflated slightly, but it flared up again the more the devil on his left shoulder whispered into his ear.

_He lied to you._

_Again._

_And again._

_About being blind._

_Are you going to let him get away with that?_

"You lied to me."

"You told me that already."

"Itachi, you _lied_ to me!"

"I understand that! I can't believe you're still angry!"

"You _lied to me!"_

Itachi fought the urge to uncharacteristically roll his eyes. "You're turning into such a drama queen nowadays whenever someone does something to you, and it's getting rather annoying. An apology – is that what you want to hear?"

"Your apology won't mean anything."

"I'm sorry," Itachi said stiffly anyway.

"Fine. I'm sorry, too," Sasuke replied with the same stiffness, his words coming out monotonously.

"Alright, then."

"Okay."

"Fine."

Silence.

The atmosphere had changed. Once light and jovial, it was now heavy with tension and awkwardness. Kakashi and Kisame exchanged glances once more, wondering if they should break the silence, but Sasuke broke it for them. He turned around and headed for the door.

"I need to go to the café," he said flatly. "I need to get the money to pay off the electricity since Itachi would rather sit around and play."

And with the slam of the door, he was gone.

Itachi remained silent and staring at the blurry outline of the door. His headache was coming back, but he paid it no attention.

"Hey, Itachi," Kisame said quietly from the couch. "We're leaving, but do you want us to stay? Are you going to be okay?"

Itachi sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his fingers. "I'm really grateful, Kisame, but I think it's another one of those days. I won't be of much company to you. It's best if you go home."

Kisame got the hint. Itachi had not wanted to directly tell Kisame to leave, but the bluish man understood. He motioned for Kakashi to stand up and with whispered partings, they were gone as well.

Itachi was back to where he had started: alone.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke didn't even bother with the media the second he opened the door. He let them take their pictures, their recordings, their monologues. He simply walked right past them, his eyebrows furrowed and his mouth twitching between a frown and a snarl.

"We heard yelling, Uchiha Sasuke."

_Stalkers._

"Do you have a girlfriend in there?"

_Why the hell would I leave _my_ house if I had an argument with my girlfriend?_

His walk to the café was muted despite the roar of life around him. His anger simply pushed away all signs of life and hints of noise and left him with a black and white silent movie.

He didn't remember that Naruto was supposed to be at the café until he caught a hint of the trademark yellow and neon orange figure sitting by the billiard table with a small group of people: Sakura, Ino, Kiba, Hinata, Neji, and TenTen. They didn't notice him come in, and he preferred it stayed that way.

"Uchiha," Temari said casually when he entered.

Sasuke shot a fleeting glance to the group in the back, hoping they hadn't heard Temari. They didn't.

"Here to do a gig?"

"Yeah, just one," he said. He didn't have any sheet music with him, so one was all he could remember. It was enough to earn him fifteen dollars.

"You'll have to wait for two performances. Can you wait for half an hour?"

Sasuke nodded, not minding in the least. When Temari came to order, he shook his head, not wanting anything. Despite how strongly his stomach growled, he had forgotten to grab money before he had stormed out of the house.

And so, having nothing else to do, and not in the mood to do anything in the first place, he sat at a two-man table and crossed his arms over the tabletop. He buried his head in the niche his hands created.

"Next up, Chris Adulara with an his easygoing saxophone solo," he heard Temari speak into the microphone, "followed by the one and only Josh Manor on guitar, and a sudden performance by Uchiha Sasuke."

_No, no, no, no, no!_ Sasuke mind shouted. _Stupid, stupid, stupid!_

He knew Naruto was looking around the café for him at the announcement of his name. Sasuke couldn't see him, but he _knew._ And his suspicions were only confirmed when he felt a presence near him and heard the soft whisper of his name.

"Sasuke?"

_Damn._

"What?" he asked without raising his head.

"What are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to be training with Kakashi?"

"I'm done."

_Kind of._

He could tell Naruto wasn't convinced.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

_Liar._

"Do you want to sit with us? It's only Sakura, Kiba, Ino –"

"No, but thanks." Sasuke finally raised his head to stare at the blond that was looking at him worriedly. "I just don't want to be around too many people right now."

"No, it's okay. I understand," Naruto replied. "We'll always have an extra seat and we'll be here for a while, so come on over any time you want to, okay?"

And he left.

Sasuke loved that about Naruto. He loved how easily the blond could tell when to push he subject and when not to, and when Sasuke did not want to be pushed, Naruto understood and left immediately, leaving an opportunity for Sasuke to come on his own.

But Sasuke didn't go.

He stayed at his little table, his arms crossed, his head down, his aura dark, and his mind wandering. Sometimes his ears perked to the sound of the performances going on. When Chris What's-his-face began his saxophone solo, Sasuke immediately became uninterested at the blues-like rhythm that waltzed from the horn and so he turned his ears to the drone of the cappuccino machine.

"You alright, kid?"

Temari's voice was the next sound that drifted to his ears. She stopped by his table, a tray of drinks balanced in her hand.

"You don't look like you're up for a gig."

"Just one gig," he said, unmoving. "I'll be fine."

Temari left him alone to announce Josh Manor's act, followed by Sasuke's. The Uchiha swore a certain pair of sapphire eyes were staring at him from across the room, but he didn't dare look up to confirm his thoughts. He simply continued to stay in the same position, listening to Josh begin playing with a soft succession of chords.

"Caught between conspiracy and the lies," the teenager sung rather professionally. "I carry with me an inexperienced love."

Sasuke kept listening to the entrancing voice. He didn't mind the music so much, and the first part of the lyrics had sounded appealing to his ears.

"On the days I've come to hate, being pushed by time, I felt a little bit of freedom." The chords changed, but their tenderness remained. "In a few years, this will become a memory, so I was suddenly trying to overlap the memories I was forgetting and now, I carry too many important things, so many that it's difficult to walk today."

_You have _got_ to be kidding me,_ Sasuke thought with a groan. He rolled his eyes at the utter cliché that was blooming around him. The lyrics were beginning to match his life.

"Anytime we – and anyone as well – are dragging countless weaknesses and sadness along, even if you stumble, get the strength to move forward. Certainly, right there, for as many tears you've shed, a smile awaits you in the end."

_Shut up, shut up, shut up!_

Sasuke resisted all urges to slam his head against the tabletop at the lyrics. He saw Josh open his mouth for the next lyrics.

"On the days when you wearily leaned against me, however you are –" **[3]**

"Fine!" Sasuke suddenly exclaimed. He stood up abruptly. The café turned to look at him strangely for his random outburst, but he was already rushing for the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" Temari shouted after him, but he didn't stop.

He was going to go back to Itachi because of some stupid lyrics he heard in a café.

Great.

He kept walking, his feet shuffling quickly down the street. His shoulders collided several time with civilians on the busy market streets, yet his mouth never opened for an apology and his feet never ceased to carry him to his sole destination: his apartment.

In his rush to get through his door, he didn't even notice the absence of the media. He simply turned the unlocked doorknob and hastily entered.

"Itachi?" he yelled into the darkness of the apartment.

At the lack of response, Sasuke suspected Itachi had gone to bed to sleep off an oncoming headache and so the younger Uchiha quickly entered his room.

But he wasn't there.

There were noises, however, coming from the bathroom. Sasuke's movements were no longer quick having figured out his brother's location. He simply walked to the bathroom door, a frown on his face and words trying to link together to form sentences in his mind. With one hand on the doorframe, he poked his head inside the open door.

"Itachi, I –"

And froze.

His wide eyes took in the sight before him with shock paralyzing his expression. Itachi was leaning heavily against the sink, only a single elbow managing to keep him up with support from the wall. He was panting heavily and sweat poured from his forehead, over his dilated eyes, and down his neck. The sink was stained red.

Sanguine.

Every inch of the once-unblemished porcelain was dripping with the sickly color. Sasuke's panicking eyes followed a rivulet of blood to the source: Itachi's arm.

The wound on his brother's arm was several inches long and, judging by the amount of blood, at least half a centimeter deep.

"Sasuke?" said Itachi, his voice unwavering and his tone neutral as if he wasn't about to pass out at that moment. He squinted. "Where's the first aid kit? I can't find the first aid kit." He blinked rapidly. "I can't see the first aid kit."

Sasuke cursed. Itachi slipped, scrambling to rest against the sink once more. Crimson rivulets seeped through his fingers as he latched his hand over his injury.

Sasuke ran from the bathroom to pull the first aid kit from the kitchen cabinet. He moved as fast as his skilled legs would carry him, returning to find Itachi collapsed onto the floor, breathless.

"Itachi, no, come on," Sasuke urged him, grabbing him by his uninjured arm. "Let me wash the blood off."

Itachi staggered to his feet with Sasuke supporting his body. Sasuke quickly spun the knob of the faucet to let out a powerful gush of water. Itachi hissed at the pressure.

"What the hell were you doing?!" Sasuke finally screamed at his brother as the blood washed away.

Itachi swallowed thickly and, unable to bring words to his mouth, made a cutting motion with his hands. Sasuke understood nothing, but he decided not to press the subject further until Itachi's arm was taken care of.

Sasuke cursed once more. He had never seen his brother in such a vulnerable state. _N__ever_. He was losing his eyesight, then he was lying, and now he was barely conscious on the edge of a sink with a wound the size of skewer in his arm. It was as if now that Sasuke was soaring to the clouds, Itachi was falling hard.

The younger Uchiha grabbed the nearby towel and pressed it tightly against Itachi's arm as he turned off the faucet.

"Can you at least _try_ and help me?" Sasuke barked at his brother's limp state, channeling his panic into frustration.

Itachi looked at him with unfocused eyes. "What?" was his confused response.

Sasuke tugged harshly on his arm to lead him away from the bathroom. The towel he held around the wound was staining quickly with Itachi's life. The second Sasuke stepped into the living room, he threw the towel away and opened the first aid kit.

He hesitated slightly. An alcoholic rub and a bottle of iodine were both present, and both were disinfectants, but the alcoholic rub stung more.

The part of him that still held anger for his older brother told him to take the alcoholic rub.

"You ass!"

Itachi's voice was finally out of its monotonous state as he hissed at the blinding pain he suddenly felt.

"You know we have iodine!"

"Now is not the time to complain."

Sasuke cast the alcoholic rub aside and quickly moved his fingers to unravel the roll of bandages and wrap them tightly around Itachi's arm. He finished the roll after several seconds and hooked it in place.

Sitting back, he sighed.

"Done."

A long moment of silence followed where Sasuke kept sending concerned glances at his immobile brother. When it was obvious Itachi had no intention of speaking or moving, Sasuke sprawled himself onto the floor and stared at the ceiling.

"You're scaring me, Itachi," he admitted quietly.

Itachi wasn't supposed to be the one that had weaknesses. Itachi wasn't supposed to be the one that got blind, that lied, and certainly he wasn't the one that needed his little brother to bandage his wounds for him. That was Sasuke's job. Itachi was supposed to be his protector. But now the roles had switched and Sasuke wasn't fit to play his new part.

"I'm sorry," Itachi said in barely a whisper.

Sasuke took in the apology with double meanings.

"Do you feel stupid?"

"Yes," said Itachi.

"Me too."

Silence.

"I shouldn't have overreacted. It's my fault you had to lie in the first place," said Sasuke, his eyes averting to his brother who had yet to move an inch.

"I realize lying about being blind isn't the most ethical thing in this universe."

"Do you think you need stitches for your arm? What happened, anyway?"

Itachi finally moved. He sighed and stood up, his steps unsteady and shaky. Sasuke stood up with him and looked to where Itachi pointed.

The kitchen's bar was covered in an assortment of plates and raw foods. Sasuke's eyes scanned over them quickly, recognizing each of them as his favorite foods. There were several tomatoes on the cutting board in the middle, dripping their sauces over the bar and down to the floor.

Sasuke, however, realized it wasn't the tomato sauce that was dripping over the bar.

It was Itachi's own blood.

"I was making dinner," Itachi offered. "But my eyesight is still blurry, so when I was cutting, I couldn't see exactly where I was making the slices."

He shook his head and closed his eyes as if inwardly chiding himself for his carelessness.

"One of the tomatoes fell on the floor and I didn't see it. I slipped, my hand came down for another slice, and I ended up with this cut."

"What's happening to you, Itachi?" Sasuke asked abruptly. "Why are you breaking down like this?"

"You know how the saying says 'calm before the storm'?"

Sasuke nodded his head.

"I don't believe that. I think it's more like the storm before the calm. Like all these bad things are happening and then maybe something good will happen in the end."

Sasuke frowned. "But then wouldn't that moment of peace after the storm only begin another storm? Maybe that saying is true. You get moments of calm, then a storm, then calm again, and then another storm."

"Don't think about it too much," Itachi said when his head began to ache once more. "Go to bed. I need to clean up."

"It's too early to go to bed. I'll help clean and make dinner."

Itachi didn't open his mouth to object, grateful for the extra help. He picked up the towel Sasuke had used and began to mop the side of the bar. Sasuke moved the food from the bar to the dining table and began to slice the untouched tomatoes.

"I think I've had enough of drama," he said. "I'm ready for a mellow lifestyle now."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

The drama didn't stop.

The weekend was over quickly and Sasuke was back into his school routine. He was on track with the entire curriculum having finished all his homework over the weekend and he was able to understand everything going on in English for once.

The boy he head beaten up a weak ago had returned, and he brought with him heightened whispers in the hall. The boy, however, did not dare to make any sort of contact with the Uchiha – not even a glance in his direction. It was as if nothing had ever happened (although the deep bruise on his cheek reminded him otherwise).

P.E., surprisingly, held no drama. Akira was absent.

The drama started _after_ P.E., in the locker room.

Sasuke was walking off of the field, his hair dampened from sweat and drooping over his forehead. He was walking slower than the rest of the class due to his bruise. The lazy Shikamaru and the crutch-bearing Kiba (who finally received permission to attend P.E. classes) had fallen into step with him.

"I don't know where you get all that energy to go all-out in sports," the lighter brunette said. "It's so troublesome."

Sasuke smirked and flicked his bangs from his eyes. "I'd like to live to see you run," he said.

"People can't live that long, Uchiha."

They entered the emptying locker room at the same time. Neither was in a hurry to leave for the next class. The sound of slamming locker doors reverberated in the large room. Curious, Sasuke peaked around a set of lockers to find Naruto hastily looking for something.

The blond was wheezing, his mouth open wide to suck air in as his hands rummaged within each locker.

"Hey, what're you looking for?" asked Sasuke casually, leaning against one locker. "Do you need help?"

Naruto turned to give him a fleeting glance. One look into his eyes told Sasuke something was wrong. Naruto's breathing was beginning to grow harsher.

"Let me help you, Naruto," the Uchiha said with more seriousness. "What's wrong?"

Kiba hobbled in at the commotion, took once glance at the blond, and immediately knew what was going on. He dropped his crutches and jumped, panicked.

"An attack?" he asked Naruto as he hopped to him, his eyes wide. "Is it an attack?"

The second he touched Naruto's shoulders, the blond collapsed into him. The two boys crashed into the nearest set of lockers before sliding to the floor.

"What's going _on?_" Sasuke demanded.

Kiba, trapped behind Naruto, reached over to prod Naruto's throat with his fingertips. He eased the blonde's head back and turned to Sasuke.

"He's having an asthma attack!" he shouted to him.

"Does he need CPR?" was the first question out of Sasuke's mouth.

_Please no, please no, please no!_

The Uchiha had no experience with asthma and had never come across it in his studies. He stared at Naruto's dangerously shuddering chest.

"He was looking for his inhaler. Damn it!" Kiba cursed. He tried to move out from beneath Naruto, but to no avail.

"CPR isn't for asthma," Shikamaru said. His expression had changed from idle to serious. "There are inhalers in the nurse's office. Grab one and bring it back here _now."_

Sasuke didn't even steal a last glance at Naruto. He ran from the room, his hair still damp and his shirt still sweat-soaked, not caring in the least that people were staring at him for the umpteenth time.

_He has asthma and he's on the track team?!_

He suddenly remembered what he had said a few days ago and cursed himself at the coincidence.

"_You know, you really have to stop being the one getting hurt. I need to get hurt at least once so that you can be the one running for help,"_ Naruto had told him.

_"Idiot," _Sasuke had replied. _"Don't jinx yourself."_

"Don't jinx yourself, damn it."

He barged into the nurse's office and looked around for Kabuto. With a pang in his chest, he remembered Kabuto was no longer there, and instead, an old man sat at the main desk. He looked up in surprise when Sasuke entered.

"Well, what seems to be the problem, youngster?" the old man asked in a painfully slow drawl.

"An inhaler. I need an inhaler right now. We've got a guy going into an asthma attack."

The old man chuckled. "Well, I just started the job this morning, so I don't seem to know where the inhalers are. But back in the day, we didn't need inhalers! We just puckered up our lips and –"

Sasuke didn't hear the rest of the conversation. He didn't hesitate to invade the backroom of the office where the supplies were kept. His hasty hands tore open cabinets, knocking down boxes and plastic jars.

"Now just what the heck do you think you're doing?"

Sasuke ignored him and continued to scramble through the medical supplies, not caring in the least that he was messing up the office. His hands finally reached a box in the corner of a cabinet and he reached in, pulling out a readily set inhaler.

With a short yell of triumph, he ran from the office and back to the locker room. Kiba was still in the same position on the floor, his back partially against the lockers and his broken ankle painfully beneath him. His hand was pulling on Naruto's hair to force the blond to face the ceiling so that his windpipe was set straight.

Sasuke threw the inhaler to Kiba and the boy caught it. He put it to Naruto's lips with deftness; Sasuke could tell he had probably been in a similar situation before.

With a single puff from the inhaler, Naruto's wheezing lessened. Kiba held onto his hair for ten more seconds before administering a second puff and letting go altogether. Naruto's breathing eased almost instantly. He sat up, still sitting between Kiba's legs.

"Thanks," he said breathlessly.

"You have a cold again?" asked Kiba. He nodded when Naruto nodded. "That's why you had the attack."

"I didn't know you had asthma," Sasuke decided to say.

"It's no big deal." Naruto waved his hand dismissively, massaging his throat. "Granny gives me medicine to help it. It's just that I have a cold and I get asthma attacks when that happens."

"You can still play sports?"

Sasuke was too concerned to feel embarrassed at his limited knowledge of asthma.

"He plays sports be_cause_ he has asthma," Kiba supplied.

He pushed Naruto off of him. The blond smiled sheepishly and apologized, getting up to help his friend. Shikamaru handed Kiba his crutches.

"It strengthens his lungs, so he's less likely to get another attack," continued Kiba.

"So troublesome," Shikamaru said with a sigh. "We're late to Health."

"Well, we've got an excuse." Kiba shuffled from the room in an aggressive manner. "We'll just tell Zabuza that Naruto was dying. Easy as baking a pie."

"Have you ever actually tried to bake a pie?"

"Shut up, Nara."

Sasuke followed the two boys with Naruto at his side. He turned to him, unsure whether to smirk or frown.

"I told you not to jinx yourself," he said. "Now I was the one running for help."

Naruto grinned despite the situation. "Sorry about that."

"It's too damn coincidental, I tell you. All of this drama is lining up in a row. First Orochimaru, then Itachi, and now you."

He had told Naruto about Itachi over the weekend. Naruto shrugged.

"Maybe something good is going to happen," he said.

"No. Maybe something _bad_ is going to happen."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kakashi had been informed of what had happened in the locker room by lunch. The new nurse had been furious. And so, Sasuke spent his after school detention cleaning up the mess he'd made in the nurse's office, listening to the old man's drawl.

"Now, sonny, you had no right to do such a thing!" he had said as Sasuke set unknown bottles back on their shelves. "It's just like you hasty youngsters to come in here like there's an emergency and tear up the place."

Sasuke simply kept his teeth gritted and told himself that the old man probably didn't have long to live anyway.

Kakashi let him out of detention when the nurse's office was neat once more with a promise to come and help the Uchiha train at six. Sasuke walked home and was alone up until he reached the door of his apartment which was – surprise, surprise – flooded with reporters.

Sasuke decided that the calm after the storm was going to come early.

He balled his hands into fists to keep himself from shouting as he walked up to the large crowd. They were getting excited, realizing he was finally going to speak.

"Do you honestly think that you'll get a single comment from me?" he asked them monotonously. He practically paved a way through the crowd to his door and tore off the signs requesting appointments. He waved the papers as he spoke. "Doing things like this, do you honestly expect me to answer you? I mean, how many weeks has it been since you've been crowding around my apartment?"

The chatter that had once been deafening was now a silenced.

"I am _not_ going to give an interview, I am _not_ going to answer questions, and I am most certainly _not_ going to keep doing this every time you show up at my doorstep. This is ri_di_culous. The most you'll ever be able to get out of me is a picture of my back."

He finally opened his apartment door and squeezed through.

"I am not a toy on display. If you continue to treat me that way, then I will speak with the vocabulary of a toy. Respect my privacy so I don't have to come after your lives with cameras and recorders simply to show you what it's like to be followed night and day by reporters."

He closed the door.

Those words were the most he'd ever said in a single conversation. He entered into the house and set his bag down against the side of the couch before collapsing into the cushions and staring at the light coming from his room.

He frowned suddenly.

There was light coming from his room.

He was sure he had closed his curtains before he left. Wondering about the strange occurrence, he pushed himself off of the couch and wandered into his room.

His curtains were closed.

But the single lamp on his ceiling was on.

_On._

Alarmed, Sasuke's hand flew for the light switch. The light went off. He clicked the switch again. The light came on. Off. On. Off. On.

The electricity was back on.

"The electricity's back on!" the Uchiha could not help but exclaim. He went from room to room, making sure it wasn't just a freak accident going on with just his light. But every light went on beneath the touch of his hand. Even the refrigerator was rumbling with life.

Itachi had paid for the electricity at last.

Feeling rather high, Sasuke decided a toast was in order. He pulled open a cabinet and pulled out a box of toaster waffles.

It was time to toast some waffles.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kakashi came in at exactly six with his duffel bag over his shoulder and a curious air.

"What did I tell you about using a gun?" he asked.

Sasuke looked up from his homework, confused. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Isn't that how you got those reporters to go away? You killed them all, right?"

"Har, har," Sasuke laughed sarcastically. "For your information, I just told them to go away."

Kakashi's eyebrows rose. "And that works?"

"Surprisingly, yes."

Kakashi stared around the unusually bright house and noticed the lights were on in the kitchen. He smirked before opening his duffel bag and taking out several weights, deciding not to comment.

"There's exactly twenty-four days left until the tournament," he chose to say instead. "Meaning you've got about twenty-one days of intense training."

Sasuke lifted his shirt and poked the prominent bruise. He winced. "How long is it going to take this stupid thing to leave, anyway?"

"A week."

"A week?!"

"Or two."

"Stupid Akira," he muttered. "He wasn't in P.E."

"Now, now, Sasuke. You know there are subtler ways of exacting revenge."

"Arson is good."

"Subtler."

"Drowning?"

"Subtler."

". . . Tripping in the hallway?"

Kakashi smiled. "That's a start!"

"Old man."

"Don't make me go there."

Kakashi had Sasuke training up until the very last minute before ten. The Uchiha was exhausted. He collapsed onto the couch, panting heavily and cursing at his lack of stamina. Kakashi tossed him a water bottle.

"Get some sleep. I'll be over tomorrow."

Sasuke was too out of breath to grace him with a reply.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kakashi parked his car in front of his house and stepped out.

Normal.

He cut his engine, locked his car, and whistled as he walked to his door.

Normal.

Itachi was sitting on his doorstep.

_Not_ normal.

"Itachi?"

Kakashi was surprised to see the man sitting there, a bottle of orange juice in one hand and a pink piece of paper in his other. The silver-haired man bent down to make sure the bottle wasn't somewhat alcoholic and that the Uchiha was fully conscious before he quickly unlocked his door and ushered the Uchiha inside.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work?" he asked as he turned the lights on. "Don't stand there like a stranger. Sit."

Itachi sat.

"Did something happen?"

Kakashi was suddenly handed the pink piece of paper Itachi had been holding. It was torn in two and crumpled, but Kakashi could still make out the words when the paper was unfurled.

It was a pink slip.

"I was fired today," Itachi said indifferently, leaning back to run both of his hands through his hair. "From the bar."

Kakashi was still staring at the slip in disbelief.

"The boss said I was one of his best workers, but I was incapacitated too many times and that I was always passing out and going home early. It was bad for business."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Kakashi exclaimed suddenly. "He can't do that!"

"He can."

"Fired?!"

Kakashi didn't believe it. If he didn't have the slip in his shaking hands, he wouldn't have believed it, either. But it was proof – proof that Uchiha Itachi had officially reached Rock Bottom and had begun to dig.

"Have you told Sasuke yet?" Kakashi asked, still in disbelief.

"I'm not going home."

"Itachi, you have to."

"I don't have to do anything," Itachi all but snapped back. "Sasuke's asleep right now. He'll never notice I'm missing. I'm not going home until I find another job, Kakashi."

"Okay, okay, let's not be rash about this. You got _fired?!"_

The silver-haired man still could not believe it. Even the repeated statement in his head would not allow him to believe it, but it was happening. He calmed himself down somewhat and sat across Itachi.

"It's not that hard to find another night job. There are plenty of bars around here."

"How many good-paying jobs are going to hire a high school graduate?"

Itachi's anger was evident in his voice now, and his eyes flared.

"I'm a twenty-one-year-old high school graduate, Kakashi! I cannot get a single decent job because when I finally decided to go to college, our so-called father decided to comment suicide!"

Kakashi silently watched the older Uchiha carefully, but Itachi was not like his brother. The elder Uchiha was calmed immediately; the only sign of his anger was the clenching and unclenching of his fists.

"What did you want to study in college?" asked Kakashi quietly.

"Law." Then, with obvious venom, he added, "Like father wanted."

"What did you really want to study?"

Itachi frowned at the remembrance. "I don't know," he said hesitantly. "I don't think I wanted to do anything, really."

"Nothing?" asked Kakashi, unable to suppress the surprise in his voice.

"In a way, it could be interpreted as anything. I could've done anything."

"But you didn't want to."

"I _can't_." Itachi's voice dropped to a whisper. "I have to take care of Sasuke."

Conversation died for a while. Kakashi stood up to prepare two cups of tea and a small snack, but Itachi did not eat. He sat on the couch in a state of disbelief and weariness, rubbing his eyes roughly and sighing from time to time.

"You'll find a job," Kakashi finally said after the period of silence. "There will always be an odd job or two around here."

Itachi rubbed his face with his hands. "Don't tell Sasuke."

It seemed to be a mantra the Uchihas had memorized and uttered whenever they were in a tight situation. Don't tell Sasuke. Don't tell Itachi. Don't tell Sasuke. Don't tell Itachi. Kakashi was tired of being the silent messenger boy.

But in the end, he was forced to sigh.

"Sure."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Back in the semi-darkness of the Uchiha household, Uchiha Sasuke lay fast asleep on his bed, completely innocent and oblivious to the world.

-------------------------------------------------------

**[1] "Me no es speak English":** Yet another appearance of Kisame's Spanglish.

**[2] Kabuto calling Orochimaru: **I actually had that put in. You can look it up in the beginning of Chapter 7.

**[3] Josh Manor's song:** It doesn't rhyme because it's a direct translation from a Japanese song: Jin Akanishi's (Akanishi Jin's) "Care". Beautiful song, absolutely beautiful. I tried to translate it as best as I could to do it justice."

See?! Even my own characters are confused about the outcome of their lives!


	24. Closer

**Disclaimer: **If I owned Naruto . . . I wouldn't spend time thinking of a disclaimer.

**Author's Note:** Okay, I'm running on nine minutes of "sleep" here - no joke.

I got a LOT of feedback last chapter that helped me think some things through, event placement, etc. You have no idea how happy that made me to know that the readers of this are trying to get totally into this story!

I'm a little disappointed at my work with this chapter. I wanted other characters to play a bigger part, but what's done needed to be done.

And please, don't skip the notes at the bottom before you think I'm insane! We're getting closer to the marathon!

**Chapter 24  
**…**:::Closer:::…  
****Inoue Joe**

**WARNING: Adult concept. Non-explicit, no worries.**

It was the sun that woke Sasuke up minutes before his alarm went off. The Uchiha blinked at the ridiculously bright lights shining through his curtains. One of his hands reached out to shield his eyes as he crawled out of bed and adjusted his newly-charged prosthetic.

Breakfast had not been made, surprising Sasuke slightly, but he shrugged it off. He did not suspect anything.

Itachi had never come home.

But Sasuke did not know.

He walked out of the house to be greeted with two reporters. Just two. He smirked and congratulated himself on his award-winning speech given the day before. The media was finally beginning to accept the fact that he would never schedule a single interview with them.

_See, Itachi?_ he thought. _I created the calm after the storm._

School was more enlightening. Nothing went wrong. He aced his Pre Calculus pop quiz, enjoyed the light atmosphere of Shop with TenTen and Kankuro, and even managed to surprise Iruka by having an entire conversation in unaccented Arabic.

"Hitting the books hard?"

"I've got a lot of time on my hands," Sasuke replied offhandedly.

Detention with Ibiki was silent, as usual, and Sasuke did not dare stare at the title of the book in the man's hands. His eyes, however, betrayed him halfway through the detention. They trailed over slowly to the book.

_My Little Pony._

"Damn," Sasuke whispered.

"Shut up, Uchiha. You're in detention."

Sasuke looked forward to P.E. He had seen glimpses of Akira in the hallway and wondered what game Gai had in store for them for the next class. He hoped it was something violent; rugby, maybe, or fencing . . . without the protective gear.

But Gai was twirling around lacrosse sticks as he leapt through the air.

"La-la-la-lacrosse!" he sang. "La-la-la-lacrosse!"

"Lo-lo-lo-loco," Kiba said as he walked by the class to sit on the bleachers.

The class was split into the same two teams once more and the game began. Sasuke frowned. Due to the rules of the game, there was no way for him to "accidentally" whack Akira across the face with the stick.

Maybe if he threw the ball at exactly the right angle . . .

No, it wouldn't work, either.

Sasuke was forced to – he cringed – play _fair._

And so, the game went on normally. Akira seemed to be staying away from Sasuke for the most part, only growing frustrated the more the team Sasuke was on scored points. The class ended with the blow of Gai's whistle and no one complained.

Sasuke entered the locker room with the intention of grabbing his backpack and quickly leaving to walk home to take a shower in his own bathroom. He turned the corner of a row of lockers.

_WHAM!_

Darkness.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

He groaned.

His face was throbbing terribly. Not fully conscious, he groaned once more before turning his head.

"Sasuke!"

The voice brought him out of his sub-consciousness. Sasuke finally opened his eyes and stared into the eyes of Kisame. The bluish man was grinning broadly as if he had just seen the most hilarious thing in the world.

"What . . .?"

Confused, Sasuke blinked rapidly and sat up. He found himself in his room, on his bed, with a cooled ice pack sliding off of his face. The setting sun was visible through his drawn curtains, telling him he had been in bed for far too long.

". . . What the hell happened?"

Kisame's grin only widened. "You got hit in the face with a locker and passed out!"

He followed the exclamation with a long succession of laughter. Sasuke didn't believe him.

"Seriously," the Uchiha said, annoyed. "I feel like crap. A single locker door can't hit that hard."

"Apparently, it can!" Kisame managed through his laughter. "That's why it's so funny! Naruto told me you dropped like a sack of tuna and no matter what they did, you wouldn't wake up."

"You have _got_ to be kidding me."

Sasuke practically jumped from his bed to the nearest mirror. He grimaced. A bruise was prominent, contrasting sharply against his pallid pallor. Some of the skin had been scratched off of his nose to leave it brightly red.

"A locker knocked me out?"

"Correction: _Neji's_ locker knocked you out."

"Neji was the one that did this to me?!"

"Relax, kid." Kisame clapped a heavy hand onto Sasuke's shoulder. "I heard it was purely accidental. He was ticked off at something so he was slamming things all over the place. He was here for a while, apologizing like mad, and he was going to stay, but somebody called him home."

"Neji was in this house?"

"What is with you and stating the obvious in the form of a question?"

Sasuke simply could not believe he had been defeated by a mere locker door. He put his head in his hands, wincing at the touch of his bruise.

"Who brought me home?"

"Naruto and Neji. They said Kakashi was busy, so I got called over instead. Aren't I just the greatest?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in an attempt to ignore the bizarre pose Kisame had struck. "Not Itachi?"

"Everyone thought you'd go into your little emo fit if we called Itachi from work, so no one bothered to tell him," Kisame said quickly. Believable. He knew perfectly well that Itachi had ended his shift at the department store and was now at Kakashi's house with nowhere else to go. "And now, I'm off to work!"

"I'll just wait for him," Sasuke said as he followed Kisame to the door. He missed the man's flinch.

"You should really get some sleep. I'm sure he'll question you about it later."

"No, I think I'll wait."

"Really, though. Take this time to rest since you don't have training today."

"Bye, Kisame."

Sasuke was somewhat confused at the stubbornness of his friend as he pushed him from the house and closed the door. He was going to wait for Itachi.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Itachi didn't come.

It was one o'clock now. Growing confused at his brother's tardiness, but without the slightest hint of worry, he ventured to the phone and dialed the number he rarely had to punch in. After several rings – something unusual even to Itachi – a deep voice finally answered.

"Where are you?"

_"I'm at the bar, working overtime."_

Itachi had no luck with lying anymore. Sasuke distinctly heard the sound of a well-timed car rushing by in the distance of wherever Itachi was.

"Liar."

Sasuke's anger did not flare as it once would have. He simply waited for his brother to give any sort of explanation before he would judge whether or not to explode.

But Itachi did not reply.

"Itachi, tell me where you are – and no lying."

Silence.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Sasuke looked at the phone in disbelief.

Itachi had hung up on him.

The younger Uchiha did his best to suppress the anger and the panic rising in his throat as his fingers moved to rapidly redial Itachi's cell phone. The ringing went on for several seconds before it became evident that Itachi wasn't going to pick up.

Panic time.

Sasuke's fingers quickly scrambled to dial another familiar number. A voice wasn't heard over the receiver until seven rings had gone by. Sasuke counted.

_"What the heck is with you Uchihas and talking to me in the middle of the night?"_

Kakashi's voice was slurred and weary-laced, with a hint of agitation. Sasuke felt guilty for all of a second before his priorities changed.

"Where is he?" he demanded calmly despite his panic. "He won't tell me where he is, and I know you know. Why isn't he at work?"

Kakashi was somewhat impressed at how Sasuke automatically knew he would have the answers. He sighed. Maybe he was getting too predictable.

_"Okay, here's the deal: I can't tell you, but I'll help you search for him if you'd like. Konoha's not that big of a place."_

"Why can't you tell me?"

_"Maybe he's just feeling a little under the weather," _Kakashi replied tiredly. _"I understand you're great brothers, but he can need some time alone, too. Listen, I'll be over in a few minutes and then we can drive by the town, okay?"_

Sasuke was already walking out of the house.

He waited for Kakashi by the curb of the sidewalk in front of his apartment. The midnight Jeep® blended well in the dark, surprising Sasuke slightly when lights suddenly flashed in his direction. Kakashi waited for Sasuke to climb into the passenger's seat before driving off once more.

"I really have to find you a new mentor," he said. "I don't have this gray hair for nothing."

"You told me it was a genetic disorder," Sasuke was quick to reply as he stared at the moving scenery from his window. ". . . Sorry for calling you out."

"I'm always happy to help. Not so much at one-thirty in the morning, but still happy."

Kakashi rubbed at his visible eye to eliminate any traces of sleep. Sasuke noticed he was wearing pajama bottoms and flip-flops.

"Where to?" the man asked as he turned a corner.

Sasuke hadn't thought about it before. He shook his head, indicating he didn't know.

"Okay, we'll drive around the stores open at this time of the night. I'm going to take a wild guess and say Itachi's probably around there."

The younger Uchiha shrugged and sunk into his seat. He was willing to go anywhere as long as Itachi was at the end of that path.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

It had been fifteen minutes since Sasuke had climbed into Kakashi's car. They were nearing another side of the busiest part of town where neon lights were as usual a sight as clouds in the sky.

"You don't speak as much of your leg as you used to," Kakashi said out of the blue. He kept his eyes on the road.

Sasuke lifted up the leg of his pants from his left ankle. The metal of the prosthesis glimmered from the lights flashing by in the scenery around them.

"It doesn't seem as important anymore," whispered Sasuke, running a slender finger along the smooth surface of his leg. "Like it's normal."

Kakashi smiled. "So you think you're going to wear shorts at the next marathon?"

"I wouldn't go that far."

"It was worth a try."

Sasuke returned his line of sight to the stores around him. Few people roamed the streets. One man sat on the curb of the road with a briefcase at hand as a group of teenagers carrying guitar cases over their shoulders walked by him. A woman and her daughter exited the nearest twenty-four hour convenience store. There was a man leaving the very same convenience store with a bottle in his hand and a bowler hat on his head.

A familiar bowler hat.

"Stop the car," Sasuke said suddenly, his eyes stuck on the familiar outline.

Kakashi jerked the car to a halt and before he could cut the engine, Sasuke was already wrenching the door open and jumping out.

"Itachi!"

The figure looked up upon recognition.

Sasuke punched him in the arm.

"You asshole!"

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Itachi replied in a quiet voice.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? Why won't you talk to me?"

Itachi stared at him with unwavering eyes and an indifferent expression. "Kind of like you refuse to speak to me sometimes?"

The older Uchiha sat on the side of the curb as his brother was rendered speechless. He did not wait for Sasuke's guilt to wash away.

"See how it feels?" he continued. "It doesn't feel very nice when you do not get the answers you want. You do this to me all the time, but I never complain. And then the one time I want to do the same, here we are, in the middle of the night on the curb of a convenience store with a bottle of orange juice and a sleeping driver."

Sasuke turned to find that Kakashi had fallen asleep with his forehead leaning against the steering wheel. He returned to Itachi, still unable to bring the right words into speech.

"But you're . . . Itachi," he said lamely.

"I suppose if you find my name in the thesaurus, the other synonyms would be 'flawless' and 'perfect', correct?"

Sasuke took a step back. The sarcastic venom from Itachi's words was dripping to the floor and spreading over the concrete.

Itachi decided he didn't care anymore.

"I lost my job at the bar, Sasuke," he said with the same indifference. "I doubt I am fit to hold your definition of my name now."

"You . . .?"

It took Sasuke a few moments to register the words that had come from his brother's mouth.

"Your job? You lost your job?"

"For absenteeism. I was causing too many problems with business."

For the first time Sasuke could recall, Uchiha Itachi had failed at something in his life. Sasuke was unsure of what to say. He suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"But it's okay, right? I mean, you can always find another job."

"Yes, I can."

"Is that why you weren't home?"

"Yes."

Sasuke frowned. "So why couldn't you just tell me that over the phone?"

"Sasuke, I _failed_," Itachi said with a slight change of expression at last. "And this is something that will change our entire finances until I can find another job. I did not want you worrying over this and going crazy over it because your reactions to events like this so far have been over the top."

"My reaction's pretty neutral now, don't you think?"

Itachi eyed him warily. "I appreciate you coming to find me at this time of the night, but I did not want to be found. I refuse to go home until I find another job."

"That's stupid."

Itachi did not grace his brother with another answer. He simply uncapped the bottle of orange juice in his hands and took a long sip from its mouth.

"So you're just going to keep wandering around the town until the sun comes up?" asked Sasuke angrily. "What if you can't find another job in a few hours? Exactly how many stores are open at this time of the night?"

He watched his brother stand up slowly and take a step forwards.

"Itachi, you can't walk away from me like this."

"I will be back before you come home from school tomorrow, Sasuke," he said. "Do not worry."

"Itachi."

"You taught me, Sasuke, that it is good to pursue what you want despite what others say." He kept walking. "So I am going to be the selfish one this time around."

Sasuke stopped trying to follow him.

"I didn't teach you that," he tried to justify.

"You do it all the time."

This time, Sasuke frowned and did not move at all. He sighed upon finding that Itachi's words were correct. He did nothing to stop his brother's figure from disappearing into the shadows of the street. Instead, he cupped his hands around his mouth and called, "I won't stop you. But you made a promise to be back before I come home from school, and if you're not, I'm calling Kakashi again and it'll just be a repeat of tonight."

He waited, not expecting a reply, but his brother's voice called out to him shortly:

"Thank you."

Sasuke smirked at first, but his frown won the battle of expressions and he turned around, worry tugging at his heart, yet guilt stabbing right on through. He left the shadows of the street to return to the Jeep® where Kakashi had officially fallen asleep against the steering wheel.

"Come on, Kakashi," he whispered when he reentered the car.

"Wha- . . .? Oh! Oh, hey, where's Itachi?"

Sasuke looked outside of the window for a while without a proper destination or his eyes. "He has things to do."

Kakashi watched the teenager at his side with a scrutinizing glance. He shifted gears and pulled away from the curb, still staring at Sasuke before forcing his eyes away. There was a silence that blanketed the atmosphere for a while.

"I can't tell you this enough, but you've really grown, Sasuke," whispered Kakashi.

"I know," Sasuke replied bitterly. "And I hate it."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke's indifference had returned. He woke up in the morning knowing exactly why breakfast was lacking from the kitchen table when he came out of his shower, but he simply ignored the never-was presence and carried on with his day normally.

Kakashi greeted him early at school. He didn't ask about Itachi, but Sasuke told him anyway. There wasn't much to say about someone that had never returned.

"He'll be back," said Kakashi. "He made an Uchiha promise."

"Uchiha promises are about as worthless as money in Hell."

Sasuke went on with his day as if nothing was wrong, as if the other half of his family wasn't missing from his house. He watched as Zabuza handed back the tests they had taken during Health.

"Nice going, Uchiha," he said. "Top of the class again in less than a week."

He handed Sasuke his test back; a red _100%_ shimmered back at him. The teacher turned to hand Naruto his test back.

"Uzumaki, hit the books a little harder."

Naruto smiled despite the _74%_ popping out of his paper. He turned to Sasuke when Zabuza walked away. "How're you feeling from yesterday?" he asked. "That bruise on your forehead is practically gone."

"Fine, I guess," Sasuke replied monotonously. "Thanks, anyway. Is Neji here today?"

"He's here everyday," said Naruto. "That guy hasn't missed a day of school since he was seven."

Neji was absent.

And so was Hinata.

Naruto walked with Sasuke to Ibiki's room during lunch, his head cocked to the side in thought and a frown marring the vibrancy of his aura.

"That's weird," he muttered. "He and Lee always walk by us when we leave Chemistry, and he _always_ goes up to TenTen at exactly ten thirty-eight and kisses her on the cheek in front of the fountain by the Physics room."

"Don't dwell on the thought too much," said Sasuke as he put his hand out to push open Ibiki's door. "Ask TenTen about it during lunch and tell me in Pre Calculus. She'll definitely know."

Ibiki greeted the Uchiha, telling him he had exactly a week left of detention. Sasuke pretended to look ecstatic.

"Well, that's just great!" he said with mock exclamation. "Just a week left! Piece of cake!"

"Shut up, Uchiha. You're in detention."

Ibiki was smirking nonetheless. He returned to his latest edition of _My Little Pony._ Sasuke didn't notice.

Naruto told the Uchiha about the missing Hyuuga during Psychology before Jiraiya could begin lecturing. Neji had never come to school and TenTen, surprisingly, did not know why.

"Strange things are going on," said Kiba.

"You can say that again," Sasuke said sourly.

"Okay. Strange things are going on."

Naruto slapped Kiba upside the head.

At last, Sasuke's after school detention came around. Kakashi came to pick him up from Psychology to send him off to his latest designation.

"Genma wants your help organizing the equipment room," the silver-haired man said as he led Sasuke to the P.E. office where Genma awaited them. He pushed Sasuke into the room with the coach. "Don't go easy on him, Genma. He's in detention."

"Yeah, yeah, Hatake." Genma rolled the toothpick around in his mouth. "Don't get your lacy panties up in a bunch. I'll have the Uchiha working."

The second Kakashi left the room, Genma smiled and leaned against the wall with no intention of doing anything too rigorous.

"Long time, no see, kid," he said. He took the toothpick into his hand like a cigarette. "You planning on coming to the next marathon?"

"As soon as my detentions are over with, I'm coming to practice," said Sasuke. "Aren't we supposed to be working?"

"Not as much as Kakashi thinks. It's just a little moving of equipment – that's all. I heard about that bruise of yours and didn't want you doing anything that would prevent you from participating in the marathon. Mind if I see it?'

Sasuke lifted his shirt without hesitation. The bruise had yet to fade even the slightest. It was still prominently dark, crawling sickeningly over the length of his side and ribs. Genma hissed.

"Oh, ouch. I'm surprised you can still raise your arms."

Sasuke shrugged and pulled the hem of his shirt down. "It's numbed by now."

"A'ight, you up for a little work?" asked Genma as he rubbed his hands together. "I want you to pour some water on yourself before Hatake comes in. Make it look like you were sweating, okay? 'Cause he'll have my head if he knew I wasn't working you hard enough during this so-called detention."

Sasuke smirked. "Kakashi's fooled by just about anything."

Wrong.

"I know you didn't do anything," Kakashi said when he entered an hour later to find Sasuke and Genma shooting basketballs into their respective carts.

Genma was taken aback. "No, no, look!" he exclaimed, grabbing the Uchiha and pushing him forward like a hostage. He pointed to his forehead. "He's got sweat on him and everything!"

"Relax, Genma," Kakashi said with a laugh. "I knew you weren't going to work him to the bone. That's why I sent him to you."

Genma pouted, the toothpick in his mouth going limp. "You mean you don't trust me?"

"It means I know what a lazy ass you can be, so I gave Sasuke a break."

Sasuke waved goodbye to his coach and left with his mentor. Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder.

"You want me to drop you off?"

"I can walk home. It's okay."

He wanted to give Itachi a little more time to come home if he already hadn't. Just in case.

"Call me if anything comes up, okay?" said Kakashi.

An orchestral bout of eerie music suddenly began playing, high-pitched violins sustaining the Devil's Tone for several seconds before lower brass gave a succession of thirds. **[1] **Kakashi gave a short laugh before taking out his cell phone.

"I'll see you later, Sasuke," he said before walking away.

Sasuke turned away with a parting gesture as Kakashi began speaking to the person on the other line. He exited the school and immediately felt the wave of heat hit his face. The uncomfortable warmth dried the water on his face and turned it into actual sweat.

_It's been a good day,_ he told himself. _Maybe Itachi will actually be there with a new job._

He heard hurried steps behind him and Kakashi was suddenly calling out his name. Sasuke turned around to find the man with his cell phone still by his ear and a grimace visible beneath his mask.

"I'm really, really sorry about this, Sasuke," he said, his voice solemn, "but I'm driving you to the hospital."

Sasuke's eyebrows drew together in confusion. "Why are we going to the hospital?"

Kakashi steered him away with a heavy hand on his shoulder and did not speak until they were both seated in his Jeep® and on the road. He sighed.

_Your life sucks, you know that?_ he secretly told the Uchiha, but Sasuke awaited a real answer.

"Itachi's there."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"He's not here," Sasuke repeated. "He's not here. He's not here."

Kakashi pushed the Uchiha into the hospital. Sasuke's hadn't taken the news well and had immediately entered a stage of denial, not wanting to hear the outcome. They had finally arrived at the hospital and Shizune greeted them at the front desk.

"Room sixty-three," she told them. "Lady Tsunade is in room sixty-five and asked you to pick her up when you entered."

"Sure thing," Kakashi replied, seeing as Sasuke had no intention of replying to anything.

The younger Uchiha did not want to do anything, either. Kakashi was practically pushing him over the tiled floors. The grips of his new shoes were a nuisance as they stopped the Uchiha from moving smoothly.

"Sasuke, come on," Kakashi tried. "We don't know the condition he's in. He could just be in there for a splinter removal or something."

He wasn't lying. When Tsunade had called him, she had not mentioned anything about the condition of the Uchiha, only saying that he was in the hospital and sleeping.

It took a while to make it to the sixties section for the rooms. Kakashi passed Itachi's closed room in favor of calling Tsunade over. Sasuke didn't object.

"That was fast," she said, her expression neutral. Sasuke did not like that about her doctoral side; he could rarely tell when someone's condition was major or minor with the indifferent face she put on. She called it professionalism. Sasuke called it annoying.

Kakashi pulled her off to the side for a few moments, glancing to where Sasuke leaned against the wall and stared at the ceiling.

"Please tell me Itachi's going to be fine," he whispered so Sasuke could not hear him. "Sasuke really doesn't need this right now."

"I can't guarantee anything, Hatake," she replied, her eyes sharp. "It depends on your definition of 'fine'. There's one little setback that might change a lot of things."

She walked ahead, beckoning the two males to follow her as she twisted the knob of Itachi's room and entered.

Sasuke peered in hesitantly. His tense body relaxed with relief slightly at the lack of machines in the room, meaning Itachi's condition was not critical. There simply was the standard IV drip attached to his hand and the heart monitor beeping erratically.

"Don't worry about waking him up," said Tsunade, entering. Her heels clicked mercilessly. _Click, click, clickity-click click! _"He's in a deep sleep."

_I wasn't worried about that, but thanks anyway,_ Sasuke thought sardonically.

He inched closer to his brother, finally able to make out the bruises on his face and the blood dried on his lips. Surprised, Sasuke sprinted the rest of the way to his brother's bed and leaned in closer to inspect him.

He began his flurry of questions: "Did something hit into him? What happened? He'll be okay, right? It's just a few bruises here and there. Is there anything major?"

Tsunade waited for the flurry to be over; she had memorized the routine by then.

"The owner of a bar on the edge of the town called the police when she found Itachi in the alleyway behind her bar today," she began. "Someone had beaten him up and had dragged him outside without telling anyone. The police are doing an investigation as we speak."

"What about his condition?" repeated Sasuke. His ears were sensitive to the erratic heartbeat displayed on the monitor. "Is it serious?"

"Bruises and minor cuts here and there," said Tsunade.

Sasuke looked at the blood leading from Itachi's nose. "Is his nose broken?"

That was where Tsunade paused and shot Kakashi a wary glance. The silver-haired man stood in confusion, unsure of the worst to come. Sasuke mimicked his expression.

"What?"

"He had some pretty high alcohol levels when he was brought in," Tsunade continued slowly. "I mean, he _was_ at a bar. But when they brought him in for inspection, I found . . ."

She trailed off, remembering Kakashi's words.

_"Sasuke really doesn't need this right now."_

". . . that no, his nose wasn't broken. It was simply from the alcohol consumption. I've managed to stem the blood flow."

"Itachi doesn't drink," Sasuke said stiffly. "Never."

"Our tests do not lie, Sasuke."

"There's a reason behind it," Sasuke continued to defend. "Someone probably forced the alcohol into him. There's no way Itachi would ever resort to drinking. He knows better."

_Like you? _his conscience told him sarcastically.

Tsunade pursed her lips at the Uchiha's stubbornness and said nothing. She was sure her tests had shown alcoholic levels in Itachi's body. It wasn't like Itachi was a god. He was human and he could make mistakes, too, she believed. She just needed Sasuke to see that, too.

Sasuke did not believe Itachi was a god, either. Not anymore. He knew, however, that Itachi would never willingly take alcohol no matter the circumstances despite what tests told him otherwise.

"The police will be by when he's awake to ask him what happened," Tsunade concluded. "Hatake, come outside. I need to discuss the police situation with you."

Kakashi obeyed and left the room to the Uchiha brothers. He glanced curiously at Tsunade as she led him to an empty room.

"Can you really get nose bleeds from alcohol consumption?" he asked.

"No."

"So you lied to him?"

"I didn't want to tell him the truth."

"And the truth would be . . .?"

Tsunade whirled around from her pacing to stare intensely at Kakashi. "There were traces of _cocaine_, Kakashi. All around his nose and deep into his nostrils! An inhuman amount that had him bleeding nonstop from his nose and mouth!"

She didn't give Kakashi time to think before continuing with her rant.

"What the hell is going on with that man? Alcohol and cocaine? What does he think he's taking? Candy?"

Kakashi rubbed his chin, deep in thought. It was the strangest situation in the world. Uchiha Itachi, clean-cut and sober, would never do alcohol or drugs, and suddenly he had done a combination of both on the same night.

"Did you get the results back from the police investigation?" he asked.

"They'll be here in half an hour for Itachi's side of the story, and then they're going to bring the whole thing together and report to me."

"I have to agree with Sasuke that something's not right."

Kakashi crossed his legs, uncrossed them, and crossed them the other way just to have something to do.

"We can't be so certain that Itachi was the one to drink the alcohol and take the cocaine until the report comes in."

Tsunade sighed. "He's not God, Kakashi," she tried to reason.

"He's not stupid, either."

Their conversation was over. The two of them returned to the room where Sasuke was wiping a fresh trickle of blood from Itachi's nose with a wrinkled napkin.

"He's bleeding again," he said flatly.

"I told you they were high levels of alcohol consumption," Tsunade lied as she took over for the younger Uchiha. "He's not unconscious or anything, so he should be waking up any time soon. He fell asleep when we were fixing him up a while ago."

Itachi woke up calmly twenty minutes later. His eyes simply opened and he sat up, wincing when the pain that was numbed with sleep strengthened. Sasuke's obsidian eyes were the first pair he saw.

Sasuke waited patiently for Itachi to be the first to speak. He watched his brother rub his non-bruised eye and stare around.

"Sasuke?" he asked quietly.

The effects of a hangover only increased the blurriness of his already-decreasing vision. He could barely make out his brother's doubling outline.

"Yeah," his brother replied lamely. "How're you feeling?"

Itachi groaned. He felt horrible. He had never felt so ill and nauseated in his life. His brain pounded with a lethal migraine, his hoarse throat ached terribly, and his nose stung with each inhale.

He moaned and sat back – a reply in itself.

"What happened?"

"That's something to discuss with the police," Tsunade interrupted. "They're waiting outside now. Itachi, will you be up for an interrogation?"

"May I stay in bed?" asked Itachi, reaching for the glass of water Kakashi handed him.

"At your service. They'll be here right away."

Sasuke did not turn to watch her walk away, nor did he leave with her. He kept his gaze on his brother, silent. Itachi thought otherwise.

"Sasuke, I do not want you here for the interrogation," he whispered to his brother.

"That's ridiculous," replied Sasuke. "It's better if you tell the story once so you don't have to keep repeating it."

Itachi shook his head (regretting it the second the nausea returned with twice the intensity). "You misunderstand," he said. "I do not want you to hear the details of the story in the first place."

Sasuke did not speak for several seconds. "I'm not leaving," he said at last. "You can't do this to me."

"It's better if you don't know," Itachi insisted with more force in his voice.

"I _want_ to know."

"The knowledge will not benefit you in any way, Sasuke. Now please, leave."

"Itachi, this is stupid. You –"

"Kakashi?"

Itachi turned to the older man for support. Kakashi got the gist of the stare coming in his direction and he moved to take Sasuke by the shoulders.

"Kakashi, you're not actually going to listen to him, are you?" Sasuke asked incredulously as he was pulled away. "He doesn't want me to listen to the interrogation!"

"You've got to respect your brother's decisions, Sasuke."

Tsunade entered with two police officers right behind her as Kakashi pulled Sasuke from the room. She gave the man a confused glance to which he indicated he would explain later.

"He does things for the best."

Tsunade tossed him a pair of keys. Kakashi knew what she hinted. He dragged Sasuke to an empty room three doors down.

"I'm losing him, Kakashi, and you're going to let that happen?"

"You're not losing him. There are just some things that happen to him that he doesn't want to talk about with you. Let him have his own choices."

Sasuke was surprised when he was pushed into the room with staggering force before Kakashi slammed the door closed from the outside, leaving him alone. He ran to pull fiercely on the doorknob.

"What are you doing?!"

"Respecting your brother's decisions," Kakashi's muffled voice came from the other side.

_Click._

The door locked.

Sasuke pounded on the barrier, angry. "Let me out, Kakashi!"

But Kakashi simply walked away.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke heard the door unlock an hour later, but he made no attempt to get up from where he slept on the spare bed in the room. He kept his back turned away from the door and pretended to be asleep.

"My back is starting to go bad from carrying him everywhere," he heard Kakashi joke. "He's as tall as I am."

"One more night won't hurt." That was Tsunade's voice. She paused and Sasuke suddenly felt arms slide beneath his legs. "Do you think Itachi did the right thing? Keeping him away from that story?"

"I don't exactly think it's nice listening to your brother talk about how he was beaten up."

Sasuke listened intently, hoping Kakashi would say more. But the man silenced completely save for a short goodbye to Tsunade and a word to passing officers.

Kakashi pulled the passenger seat of his car down as far as it could go before laying Sasuke on it and heading to the driver's side. Sasuke, sick of pretending to be asleep, rolled over a few times for added effect and sat up, rubbing his eyes convincingly.

"Where's Itachi?" he asked with feigned weariness.

"He has to stay at the hospital for one more day for a checkup and he'll be home tomorrow afternoon."

"What happened with the investigation?"

"That's not something you should worry about now," Kakashi said quietly. He knew Sasuke was trying to trick him into an explanation. "Do you want to stay at my house, or would you rather me drive you home?"

"Home. I need to finish up some homework anyway."

No more words were exchanged between the two until their parting. Kakashi leaned over to look out the window when Sasuke had left his car.

"Take care of yourself, okay?"

Sasuke waved dismissively. "It's not like Itachi was ever around to take care of me."

Kakashi watched him leave before returning to his steering wheel and sighing.

"He takes care of you more than you think, kid."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke was in somewhat of a passive state the next day. He fixed his indifferent façade into place, walked through the school doors, and let everything wash over him like water over smooth rock.

It was noticeable to those who cared. Naruto poked him from behind with a pencil during English.

"You're in one hell of a mellow mood," the blond said.

Sasuke shrugged, proving Naruto's point.

"Something's up."

Sasuke shrugged. Again.

"And you're going to tell me."

Sasuke finally turned to stare at him, ignoring Kurenai's lecture for a moment. He narrowed his eyes.

"Sometimes," he said, "people who are close to each other don't have to tell each other everything."

Naruto's sapphire eyes clouded briefly in confusion.

"Boys!" Kurenai's sharp tone rang out. "Pay attention. We're reaching the climax of the story."

The rest of the boys noticed Sasuke's passive behavior during P.E.

The locker room was filled with a thick tension emanating from a certain Hyuuga. Neji was fuming silently as he undressed, practically tearing his shirt in the process. Lee dared to approach him.

"You were missing yesterday," the usually-boisterous boy whispered. Sasuke was surprised at his ability to utter a sentence without the words revolving around "youthful." "We tried calling, but no one would answer."

Neji visibly tried to calm down. "My apologies," he said at last as he gathered his hair into a ponytail. "Hinata's father had returned unexpectedly from his business trip and so we were forced to move back into our old rooms. It was a rather busy day."

The rest of the boys seemed to understand. Sasuke, however, continued to stare at the Hyuuga with puzzlement hidden in his expression. Neji turned to acknowledge his presence.

"I also owe you an apology," he said. "I should not have let my anger get a hold of me like that. I am sorry for hitting you."

Sasuke waved his hand dismissively. "It happens."

_No, it doesn't._

Neither the Hyuuga nor the Uchiha had any intention or enthusiasm to continue the conversation. The two silenced as they headed for the field.

Akira's aggression had returned on a slighter scale. It seemed to be ingrained into his personality rather than his hatred. Sasuke still seemed to be his favorite target, but he knew when to maintain a distance.

Akira had misaimed once during a dive for the ball in the class' game of soccer and had instead collided with Sasuke's legs, effectively tripping the Uchiha and sending him into the grass. The teams held their breaths, waiting for a scuffle to stir. To their surprise, Sasuke simply gathered to his feet and stepped away without a moment's glance to Akira. He waited patiently for Gai to give Akira a yellow car before taking the free kick given to him.

"Okay, you're usually beating up on the kid by now," Kiba said upon their return to the locker room.

Sasuke's shrugging session returned. "I'm not in the mood to argue."

_I've done enough of that._

No one tried to speak to him out of respect for the rest of the day. They watched him from afar, briefly wondering about his thoughts, before their minds turned their interest elsewhere. Sasuke appreciated the lack of effort.

Kakashi did Sasuke a favor and cancelled his after school detention.

"I think yesterday's trip to the hospital was detention enough," he offered as an explanation. "Head home. Itachi should be dispatched in an hour or so."

Sasuke offered no objection.

He took his time walking home, taking the long way to walk by Kotetsu and Izumo's bakery. The bakers greeted his indifference with ecstatic outbursts and bagels galore.

"This one's for the bigger grouch," Kotetsu said, handing Sasuke an extra bagel. "And don't you dare hand it back, Uchiha Sasuke, or I'll follow you home."

Needless to say, Sasuke kept the bagels.

He entered the always-empty house, walked into his always-empty room, and jumped onto his always-comforting bed. He didn't feel like doing anything: eating, sleeping, moving – whatever. Anything.

So he sat there.

And stared.

And waited.

His catatonic state paid off when he heard the _cli-click!_ of the unlocking door. It snapped him out of his motionlessness and he ran from the room to find Itachi. Not Deidara, not Tobi, not Kisame, but Itachi in all his orange hat-bearing glory.

"You're finally home," Sasuke said lamely, trying to contain his excitement. Everything seemed to sound lame whenever he spoke to his brother now.

Itachi stared at him with blurry vision. His left eye was blackened. His right cheekbone was purpled.

"Finally," Itachi repeated after his brother. "Do you want me to leave?"

He stood by the door with unsteady legs, waiting for Sasuke's answer. Sasuke was slightly taken aback.

"Why would I want you to leave?"

"I suspect you hate me after what I've done."

Sasuke took a few steps forward, getting a clearer vision of his brother's marred face.

"I'm angry at you, but I don't hate you," he said.

They stood awkwardly in the living room for a few moments before Itachi took off his hat and put it on the table by the door. Sasuke's eyes played with his mind for a while. Something about Itachi was amiss. Something was unusual, but the younger Uchiha couldn't place it.

Itachi helped him along. He ran one hand through his hair.

His shortened hair.

"Well?" he asked quietly. "How does it look?"

Shortened hair.

Itachi had cut his hair.

Sasuke's eyes tried to familiarize themselves with the strange sight. Itachi's hair put into a ponytail had once reached the middle of his back. The ponytail was now entirely missing with his hairline ending at the nape of his neck. His bangs, once reaching long past his chin, were now cut short to a length reaching only the bottom of his ears. **[2]**

Sasuke reached up to run his own hands through his brother's hair, still in disbelief.

"Your hair," he choked out. "Why did you . . .? It's gone. Your hair . . ."

Itachi ran another hand through his silken locks, sighing. "I thought I would get it cut for the summer. Change is good."

"Change is horrible," Sasuke countered immediately.

"You do not like it? I think I did a pretty good job for cutting it myself with a hangover."

Itachi finally ventured deeper into the house to peer into the cracked bathroom mirror. He turned his head from side to side, inspecting his bruises rather than his hair.

"Why'd you cut it in the first place? You never cut your hair 'for the summer'."

"My long hair had become a nuisance."

The sentence held more meaning than Sasuke would know. Itachi's own eyes flashed with fresh memories.

_"You cheater. You're going to get your money's worth."_

He winced suddenly, feeling the powerful yank of his hair from behind despite being alone in the bathroom. Sasuke watched his strange actions from the doorway.

"Are you ever going to tell me why you were drunk?"

"Such a pleasant sense of déjà vu," Itachi said with amusement lacing his voice as he walked from the bathroom and into his room. The room had begun to spin.

Sasuke felt the sense of déjà vu as well. Three months ago, it had been Itachi questioning Sasuke about getting drunk. But Sasuke had made the choice himself. The younger Uchiha didn't think Itachi was as weak-willed.

"Tsunade told me you had been beaten up. At a bar."

"Yes, I had."

"Did the person who beat you up force you to drink the alcohol?"

"No, they didn't."

"They?" asked Sasuke with incredulity. "As in more than one?"

Itachi had a sarcastic comment about Sasuke's vocabulary just waiting to roll off the tip of his tongue, but he held it back with the bile that threatened to rise.

"So you were the one that drank willingly?"

"No, I wasn't."

The story stopped making sense, but Sasuke understood Itachi's game. As long as Sasuke asked yes-or-no questions, he would get his answers. Anything else, anything detailed, and Itachi would remain silent.

"Does cutting your hair have anything to do with the incident at the bar?"

Itachi smirked at his brother's ingenuity. He flung an arm over his eyes. "Yes, it does."

_Okay, now we're getting somewhere._

"Is there something more to the story than Tsunade let on?"

". . . Yes. There is."

"What?"

Sasuke hoped to catch his brother off guard, but Itachi remained silent. The older Uchiha rolled over on the bed and buried his face into his pillow. The comfort of the soft cushion held mercy over his bruises.

"I'm tired, Sasuke," he said with honest exhaustion. "You of all people should know what it feels like to have your first hangover."

Sasuke sighed and agreed quietly. "The marathon is coming up in twenty days from tomorrow," he said. "You don't have to get another job. We can just hold off for twenty days, and I'll help out with money from the café, and when I win that tournament, we'll be set for life."

If_ you win the tournament . . ._ thought Itachi.

"We'll have a lot of money and I can live on my own for a while so you can take up those scholarships for college, and then you can get the job you really wanted since your high school diploma won't get you much."

Itachi was left smirking into his pillow. Perhaps Sasuke knew him too well.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

The next time Sasuke woke up, he thought he was in a nightmare.

He tried to slap himself awake from the frightening rattling of his body, but he was already awake. He was already awake and staring into his brother's wide, wide eyes.

"Sasuke, it's driving me insane," his brother told him.

_Nightmare, nightmare, it's a nightmare,_ Sasuke tried to convince himself as he closed his eyes. It was too confusing to be reality.

Itachi was still shaking him, his hands still grabbing fistfuls of Sasuke's pajamas. The younger Uchiha decided to play along with his nightmare.

"What's wrong?" he breathed out, his hands moving to grab onto Itachi's.

His room was still in darkness, but the lights were on in the living room, outlining Itachi's figure with an eerie glow that only heightened the mania.

"I want it so badly," Itachi said, still not making any sense.

His hands moved to grab Sasuke by the sides, his fingers digging into Sasuke's bruise. The younger Uchiha let out a yelp of pain.

_Okay, not a nightmare. Reality._

"Itachi, you're hurting me," he choked out. "Itachi, stop. What's wrong?"

"Keep me away from it, Sasuke. Don't let me have any."

Sasuke could not reply. He was too busy arching his back, trying to get his brother's fingers out of his sides. The pain was overwhelming.

"I-tach-tachi!"

Itachi finally released his grip and sat back, rubbing his arms and panting harshly. Sasuke scrambled backwards, his heart racing. His fingers groped for the phone at his bedside table. His eyes caught the time as he dialed Tsunade's number.

Four in the morning.

The phone was reluctantly put down. No. He refused to call someone for help once more. He was done being a burden. It was time for him to try and take matters into his own hands.

He crawled forwards on his bed despite the pain in his side telling him to keel over and die.

"Itachi, calm down," he told his panting brother. "What's wrong?"

"They made me have it and now I want more!"

Itachi's hands wove themselves through his shortened locks, but he winced and unwound them quickly. His hands resorted to rubbing his arms lightly.

"What did they make you have, Itachi?" asked Sasuke slowly. He grabbed his brother's hands to steady them; the rubbing was unnerving and made Itachi seem like a deranged murderer.

Itachi turned his head to gaze wildly into Sasuke's eyes, their faces a mere hair's breadth apart. Sasuke squinted his eyes against the sharp breathing blowing into his face. Very quietly, very ominously, Itachi uttered a single word:

"Cocaine."

Flashes of memories paralyzed him. His speech suspended in the air and he stopped, his breath hitching before being suppressed completely. His mouth hung open. Images danced wildly before his eyes like a tribal ritual around a fire.

_"He's not going to leave consciously."_

_"Do you want to walk away, or should we use force?"_

Reality still went on, and his younger brother was taking part in it.

"Drugs?!"

He grabbed Itachi's face between the palms of his hands. Itachi's eyes had dilated and a trickle of blood was running astray from his nostrils.

"Tell me what happened _now._"

"Sasuke, I want it so badly," Itachi whispered, ignoring his brother. **[3] **Something was still yanking at his missing ponytail harshly. He closed his eyes against the nonexistent pain.

Panicking obsidian eyes returned to the phone. To call or not to call? Could he really handle such a situation on his own?

_Maybe there are times like these where you need help._

Sasuke ignored the wisdom coming from his head and followed his panicking heart. He struggled for a few moments to push Itachi down to the bed.

"Where did you get the drugs?" he said, trying to take charge of the situation.

"Don't let me take any more, Sasuke."

Itachi was sinking deeper into the pillow, fading.

Sasuke wondered whether or not to leave his brother like that, to let him fall into his uncertain sleep. He had never had experience with drugs; he had skipped an entire semester's worth of Health class. Was it dangerous to let him go to sleep?

The taunting fluorescence of the alarm clock stood out vividly in the dark. Tsunade's shift would begin in a matter of hours.

He could wait until then.

Right?

---------------------------------------------------------

**[1] Devil's Tone: **A musical concept I really like. =) For those who don't know, it's a note that was actually illegal to be played back in the old times because it was thought to be the sound of the Devil. A single note. That's what all the really creepy music is based on.

**[2] Itachi's Hair:** New concept. =) I spent a LOT of time drawing Itachi's new hairstyle because I had a hard time visualizing it and I knew some people would, too. And I got the picture to look perfect and he actually doesn't look that bad! So I got ready to put it on the computer so I could share it with you guys . . . and then I realized I didn't have a scanner.

Damn.

**[3] Cocaine Addiction:** Before any of you review telling me "You can't get addicted in one day!" or something around that, read this. You _can_ get addicted with one try. It depends entirely on the circumstances. I put a **_lot_ **of research into this: books, internet - I even asked a few people in my class that I knew had tried the stuff. Itachi's stressful conditions and life events have him yearning for euphoria. And so when he gets it, he wants more. I think I might have Tsunade explain that further.

Notice: Everything else is going fine with Sasuke's life. Everything. Except there is always this gray-black area around his life at home. This, my friends, is reality. Something has to be wrong, and with Sasuke, it's his family.


	25. Mad World

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto.

**Author's Note:**

Exam Week.

**Chapter 25  
**…**:::Mad World:::…  
****Gary Jules**

**WARNING: Strong language. Drug mention.**

Sasuke did not go back to sleep after Itachi had closed his eyes. He had crawled out of his bed instead, leaning over to grab his charging prosthesis without trying to disturb his brother.

His hands were shaking.

_No, they're not_, he told himself as he fixed his prosthesis into place, but even the voice in his head wavered. He wandered out into the living room and to the kitchen. The alarm clock would be ringing in a simple two and a half hours. What was the point of going back to sleep?

He did not want to admit he was afraid of going back to sleep. Not with Itachi like that. Not with Itachi delirious and drunk and in his own bizarre version of cocaine withdrawal.

Not with Itachi acting human.

Sasuke was still having a hard time believing his brother was mortal and wounded.

He sat for an hour at his kitchen table, drinking milk from its carton and nibbling on a toaster waffle. He didn't know what he was doing, or what he was going to do. When the sun began to rise, he left the table and went to shower and dress as if he was heading to school.

Dripping wet, he came out in nothing but a towel (his bruise darker from Itachi's grip) and stood over his sleeping brother, watching him silently. Itachi did not look like he once had. The ugly bruises hid his face. His shortened hair was unrecognizable.

Sasuke frowned and averted his attention to the clock. Five twenty-three in the morning. Tsunade had woken up twenty-three minutes ago and was probably at the breakfast table looking over medical documents.

Perfect timing.

He finally picked up the phone and dialed her cell phone number. She picked up almost immediately.

_"Good morning, Uchihas," _she said rather cheerfully. Sasuke held the phone away from his ear. Her voice was too loud for his liking.

"Right," he replied monotonously. "You've got your first patient of the day waiting for you."

_". . . Itachi, right?"_

"Yes."

Her sigh was audible over the phone. _"Is he awake?"_

"Sleeping."

_"I'll be over in a few minutes."_

Sasuke stopped her before she could hang up on him. "And thanks for lying to me," he told her with as much subtle venom as he could muster.

He hung up first.

He took the liberty of preparing tea for three people, partially because Tsunade was coming, partially because he knew Itachi would need something when he woke up, and mostly because he wanted some himself.

Tsunade knocked on the door several minutes later. Sasuke took his time, just to pleasure himself. He picked up a stray strand of hair from the carpet, straightened an already-perfectly-aligned painting, and brushed invisible dust from one of the shelves to his right before he finally ventured over and turned the doorknob.

"I was in the shower," he offered as an excuse, and his still-soaked hair backed him up.

Tsunade did not seem annoyed (to Sasuke's own annoyance) and she took her own liberty of entering into the living room. She held a medical kit at her side.

"I didn't lie to you," she told Sasuke over her shoulder.

"A bloody nose from alcohol consumption?"

"Okay, I lied."

Sasuke grew aggravated at her uncaring tone as he followed her into his brother's room. "Did you think I wouldn't find out later?"

"Yes, actually." She stood over Itachi, grimacing. "I didn't think the affects of the cocaine would carry on after the meds I gave him. What's wrong with him?"

"How should I know?" Sasuke snapped. "I was the one that called you."

She closed her eyes in annoyance and let her doctoral patience take over. "What happened? Signs? Symptoms? Was he screaming about bugs in his skin?"

Sasuke gave her a look that accused her of growing an extra head. "Bugs?"

"Coke bugs."

He shook his head. "No bugs or whatever. He was just talking really fast and he was delirious, like he was talking to me, but not _really_ talking to me."

Sasuke didn't know how to explain what he saw. His brother had spoken to him, yes, but had he really heard him? Had he really been waiting for Sasuke's answers? The pain he felt from the abuse to his bruise yesterday came back intensely. He winced.

"It was like he kept seeing things instead of me."

He vaguely wondered if that was what he had seemed like when he was getting his hallucinations.

"And he kept saying he wanted more, but he told me to stop him."

"Did he do anything unusual? Rubbing his arms a lot? Sneezing incessantly? Strange spurts of blood?"

Sasuke watched her take out a light to inspect the depths of Itachi's nostrils. "Rubbing," he replied absentmindedly. "And he kept shaking me."

Tsunade gently shook Itachi's shoulder to get him to open his eyes. The Uchiha did so almost immediately. He groaned at the bright light of Tsunade's medical flashlight shining into his dilated eyes.

"How do you feel?" she asked him quietly. "Still craving?"

"Mm," Itachi moaned in agreement.

He started rubbing his arms again. Sasuke turned questioningly to Tsunade.

"He needs medication for a while," she said. "And a supervisor. There's a chance he can go into an attack, and he needs someone to watch over him. The medication is going to make him weak when he uses it."

Kakashi was out of the question, and Sasuke knew he wouldn't be able to handle Itachi if he was to go into an attack.

"I'll call Kisame."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kisame, having not heard about anything, was in shock when he was suddenly called at six in the morning. He did not say anything over the phone for several minutes before he promised to be there in thirty seconds or less to pick up the incapacitated Uchiha.

When he got to the Uchiha household, his surprise only heightened.

"What the _hell_ happened?" he had exclaimed upon seeing the transformed image of Uchiha Itachi. "What's going on with the world?" **[1]**

_I ask myself that everyday,_ Sasuke had answered dryly in his own thoughts.

Kisame had helped the somewhat-conscious Itachi to his car with Sasuke trailing behind to be dropped off at school. And so Sasuke now sat in English with a new writing assignment in front of him and a new questioning glance from Kurenai.

"You're looking pretty unhealthy," she commented. "Sick?"

"Yeah," Sasuke muttered, mentally adding, _of life._

_I don't look sick. I can't look sick. I've been getting healthier and training._

_What training?_ his own mind contradicted.

_I've been eating._

_Yeah. Toaster waffles._

Sasuke turned to Naruto. "Do I really look unhealthy?"

"You lost some weight again," Naruto supplied. He fiddled with his pencil awkwardly. "Seriously. What's been going on at home?"

"Itachi issues," Sasuke replied, and said no more.

P.E. took his mind off of things. They were in the gymnasium with gymnastics equipment set up over the vast area. Gai skipped across the room with ribbons flowing behind him.

"The beauty and grace of gymnastics!" he cried, tears coming to his eyes. "Boys, I want you to float! Float and let your youth soar!"

He took the boys as a group to each of the stations he had set up, instructing them as they moved from one piece of equipment to the next.

"The balance beam is one of the most versatile pieces of equipment," he explained when everyone had gathered around. "It takes skill and the balance of your youths to master this seductive beauty!"

They were told to walk across its entire length. Those who fell off would have to do a "lap of youth." Sasuke walked across it with relative ease, his arms at his sides and his head staring directly in front of him. Gai noticed this with a twinkle in his eye.

"Uchiha!" he exclaimed. "Your youth shines with skill! Flip for me!"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Flip?"

"On the beam! A front flip, if you would please!"

"Coach, that's crazy," said an anonymous boy from the back of the class. "He'll break his neck."

Sasuke's eyes glinted. The boy had challenged him, and he was going to step up to the challenge. He smirked, nodded his head, and put his hands out in front of him. Gai watched with excitement. Naruto watched with fascination. Akira watched with boredom.

Very gracefully, very professionally, Sasuke's feet left the balance beam and his body twisted in the air, landing on his hands, and then on his feet once more without the slightest hint of unbalance. He walked the remaining length of the balance beam and jumped back to the ground where he was met with a mixture of stares.

Gai was clapping loudly. "Such beauty! Such grace! Such skill!"

"Showoff," Naruto said good-naturedly.

Sasuke smirked. "I know."

Uchiha personality: check.

To Sasuke's surprise, Neji was one of the other two boys in the class who had skill in gymnastics. The Hyuuga made sure his hair was securely tied before he walked with relative ease onto the balance beam, flipped – not once, but twice -, and landed perfectly.

He glanced teasingly in Sasuke's direction, a mocking smirk playing with his lips.

"Flip that hair one more time for me, Hyuuga," Sasuke replied, an equal smirk plastered onto his face. "I knew you were too girlish for your own good."

"I'm not the one with the hourglass figure, Uchiha."

Sasuke, thinking quickly, pointed at Sai. "You shouldn't insult people when they're around."

Sai frowned and looked down at his belly-exposing shirt. He fixed the hem of it for a few seconds, still frowning. "It took me a while to get this figure just right."

The boys surrounding him took two steps back – one more, just for good measure.

Health Class sharply turned his mood around.

They were studying eating disorders.

"Anorexia," Zabuza explained twenty minutes into his lecture. "There are several different kinds. The one some of you are probably familiar with is anorexia nervosa, where the patient is unusually thin, usually with an unusual color to their complexion –"

"Like Sasuke?"

A girl in the back had her hand raised high, but she had not waited to be called on. Everyone turned to stare at her before their eyes slowly changed course to Sasuke.

Sasuke's eyes widened slightly at the attention he was receiving. He shook his head, trying to indicate that he wasn't anorexic.

Did he look that thin?

Did he really look that unhealthy?

"Um . . . no," Zabuza said awkwardly, trying to regain the class' attention. "No, Uchiha's not anorexic. He's just really thin. Haku, over here, was actually anorexic at the age of eleven . . ." **[2]**

But Sasuke wasn't listening, and neither were a few people who had chosen to look at him closely, trying to decipher whether or not he was really anorexic now that the suggestion had been brought up.

Sakura took pity on the Uchiha that had taken to examining his wrists.

"You don't look anorexic," she tried to assure him. "That's just Yuna. Huge retard. Major bitch. Don't pay any attention to her."

Of course he wasn't paying attention to her. He was too busy paying attention to himself.

His mind was a whirlwind with questions and paranoia up until his after school detention when Kakashi came to escort him to the band room.

"Do I look unhealthy?" he quickly asked his mentor as they walked through the silenced halls.

Kakashi turned to stare at him. "Well, you haven't been training well, and you've been through a lot of anxiety in the past days. It's only natural that you look overworked, but with a few days' proper rest and a better diet, you'll be fine."

"So I look unhealthy," said Sasuke bluntly.

"Yes."

Sasuke was instructed to sort piles of sheet music into their proper folders and in the proper order of instruments. Yamato, the music instructor, opened the door to the Uchiha and allowed him into the room he had never been in before. **[3]**

"Is it possible to give me a break?" asked Sasuke before Kakashi had the chance to walk away. "You can't let me off of the hook so I can go home and train?"

Kakashi turned around and waved, calling over his shoulder, "You should've thought of that before you beat up that kid."

"Sasuke!"

The bubbly voice came from within the band room. Sasuke did not have to turn around to realize it was Naruto. Yamato turned him around nonetheless, leading him to the desk covered in sheet music.

Naruto was in the center of the spacious room, sitting in a chair with an acoustic guitar in his hands and a stand in front of him. Kiba was at his side on the drum kit.

"A Shop kid is entering the Band Room! It's a conspiracy!" Kiba said in mock exclamation, his drumstick-bearing hand pointing at the Uchiha.

Naruto laughed melodically. "He's here for detention, idiot. Yamato's been trying to get those papers sorted since the beginning of the year."

"I've written the order of instruments down on the board over here, Uchiha," Yamato said from the white board in the center of the room. It was a rather extensive list. "The folders are all labeled. Enjoy."

"Greatly," Sasuke replied dryly.

He turned to stare at Naruto and Kiba as he passed them.

"What are you two doing after school, anyway?"

"Practicing!" said Naruto, his voice loud with enthusiasm. "The spring concert I mentioned a _long_ time ago is a few days before the marathon, so we really need to get our song straight."

"Falling Up to Heaven?"

Sasuke's memory came back to him. His ears remembered the soft, soft chords of Naruto's guitar as he sung the unfinished lyrics.

"You finally finished writing it?"

"With help from yours truly," Kiba said with a grin. "I practically wrote the rest of the song."

"I want that work finished!" Yamato called from his office.

Sasuke turned around to continue towards the pile of papers. Naruto's silence was short-lived.

"You know," he began, "we could really use a piano player."

"Not interested."

"Oh, come on!" said Naruto. "It'll be really fun! You can make up anything."

"Uchiha's a piano player?"

"Not interested."

"Think about it. Please?"

An hour later, after Sasuke had finished sorting every piece of music in the vicinity, his hands glided over the smooth keys of the grand piano as Naruto's velvety broke the still air and Kiba's hands moved gently to play a beat.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kisame's house.

Big, blue, and bizarre.

Sasuke walked down the cobblestoned walkway to the front door of the man's house, his hands in his pockets and the tune of Falling Up to Heaven in his head. It was not easy to miss the man's house, he thought to himself as the wooden door came closer and closer. After all, it was the only house in all of Konoha with a large pond smack-dab in the middle of the lawn.

It was Kisame's pride and joy, his lawn. Filled with over ten different kinds of fish and amphibians, he tended to it every day, making sure each and every living organism was well-fed and well-groomed. Not a single animal had died since he first had the pond.

Miracles.

Sasuke rapped the door sharply with his knuckles. He had been about to turn around to admire the view, but Kisame suddenly answered the door with a finger to his lips to gesture for silence.

A finger to his _bloodied_ lips.

Sasuke stared at the man, slightly taken aback. A bruise on Kisame's left cheekbone complemented the blood that crusted his lips and his wildly-ruffled hair.

"What happened?" the Uchiha asked in worry. "Did Itachi do this to you?"

"Let's talk inside, kid," whispered Kisame.

He led Sasuke over the threshold and into the living room. Sasuke's eyes swept over the aquatic-themed area in a second's glance. Nothing had changed since he had last been in Kisame's house months ago; the living room was still very simple, yet stylish with its retro furniture and its ornaments hanging about in a feng shui fashion.

Kisame rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Itachi kind of went into attack mode on me," he said sheepishly. "I wouldn't let him out of the house, so he swung a few punches before I could sedate him."

"Is he ok–?"

Sasuke caught himself, seeing Kisame wince in pain as he touched the bruise on his cheekbone. He changed the subject of his question. In a softer tone, he asked, "Are _you_ okay?"

Kisame grinned.

"Yeah, I'm fine, kiddo. Your brother's black belt in karate got me right in the jaw and nose. I was bleeding like mad all over the place."

"How's Itachi? Is he stable?"

"As stable as an unconscious man can get."

Kisame led the way to the guestroom where Itachi was laid out on a queen-sized bed, his visible hand poorly bandaged. Despite the intense heat of the summer that lashed at any passerby, a humidifier sat quietly in the corner of the room, covering the area in a blanket of mist.

Sasuke wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand and stood to look over his brother sadly. He brushed a few damp strands of his brother's shortened hair from his sunken eyes.

"So he's still addicted?" he asked quietly.

"Afraid so."

Sasuke sighed. He sat on the corner of the bed and stared at the other adult in the room.

Once upon a time, he had thought adults were a special haven of their own. He thought as long as there was an adult, he was safe. As long as there was an adult, that adult would protect him from everything, help him along, and always be there when he needed him most. **[4]**

Then he saw his father's true self, and he thought that he had always thought his father was not the ideal parent.

But then his mother showed her mortal form, and he thought even angels needed to make sacrifices.

But then, as he stood over Itachi in that one moment, he knew that just because adults were older than he was, it didn't mean they were perfect. It didn't mean they were the solution to every problem.

Or maybe it was just the Uchihas.

"Why?" he asked Kisame.

But Kisame was an adult, and Sasuke didn't expect answers.

"It's like this," Kisame replied, oblivious to the young Uchiha's thoughts. "Cocaine makes you feel _really_ good. And Itachi's been going through a really hard time lately. He wants a break. He wants to feel really good. So when he took the cocaine, he had a taste of something that makes him feel on top of the world."

He turned to Sasuke now, his face set in utmost graveness as he spoke. "If you finally feel on top of the world, do you think you'd want to fall back to where you were before?"

Sasuke shook his head. "But why not feel good because of something else? We had so much fun together . . ."

He trailed off when he had figured out the answer for himself. Kisame voiced the conclusion for him.

"You weren't the only one busy trying to make everyone happy in life, Sasuke."

Sasuke brushed another stray strand of hair from Itachi's face absently. He sighed once more.

"Do you mind keeping him for another day?" he asked Kisame. "I mean, you can give him a heavy sedation to make sure he'll stay unconscious until you come back from work today, but tomorrow's Saturday, so you'll have a free weekend."

Kisame smiled softly. "No problem," he said. "I bet you didn't know my full name is Uchiha Kisame."

Sasuke smiled to enlighten the man, but he grimaced on the inside.

_You don't want our last name,_ he thought. _You're a good adult._

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Concentrate, Sasuke."

"I'm concentrating."

"No, you're not. You're holding the resistance bands the wrong way."

"I'm concentrating."

Kakashi looked down at the Uchiha struggling on the floor with the exercise equipment he had been given. He put his hands on his hips.

"Keep focused."

"I'm _focused_!"

"No, you're not."

"I've got bigger priorities, Kakashi!"

Sasuke threw the resistance bands from him irritably and laid on the floor, panting harshly, his shirtless body bearing a thin sheen on sweat, his bruise seemingly pulsating with mind-numbing pain.

Kakashi knelt down beside him. "There's nothing you can do about Itachi right now. The help he needs is way beyond the help you can give him."

"I can make him happy," said Sasuke. "I shouldn't be training. I should be with him."

"How happy can you make a sedated man? Sasuke, if you keep thinking this way, the marathon you've been hoping to win will slip away from your hands."

Sasuke grumbled and took hold of the resistance bands once more. He pulled them sharply, straining both his arm muscles and his bruise, but he did not care in the least. He thought the pain would numb eventually.

Eventually.

Naruto came in as Kakashi was about to leave. Kakashi had opened the door seeing as Sasuke, who was barely conscious on the couch with his chest heaving, was unable to.

"Hey, Naruto," Kakashi said softly with a ruffle of the blonde's sun-spun spikes. "Take care of the Uchiha. Mr. Emo Prince over here is wallowing in misery and physical pain."

"Emo _King_," Naruto corrected with a smile as Kakashi left.

The blond turned to stare at Sasuke. He stood behind the couch and leaned over it, staring down at Sasuke's sweat-covered face.

"So what's crack-a-lackin'?" he asked cheerfully.

"Have you been taking vocabulary lessons from Kisame?"

Naruto laughed. Sasuke envied the melodic jingle that emitted sincerely from his throat. Why couldn't his laughter sound the same?

"No, seriously. What's been going on?"

Sasuke finally sat up, wincing. Naruto could not help cringing as his eyes rested upon the bruise that practically swallowed Sasuke's chest.

"That thing's still there?"

"Fucking Akira," Sasuke said darkly as he stood to grab his shirt from the nearby couch. "Why are you here in the first place?"

"I came to see if you wanted to hang out. It's a Friday night. Being cooped up all day isn't good for you."

"Sorry. Not interested."

Naruto gave a twisted grin. "That's the same thing you said about playing the piano." He busied himself by inspecting a painting behind him. "Did you know that a lack of sunlight actually causes depression? It's because you're not getting enough serotonin."

Sasuke's eyebrows rose slightly. "Learn something in science at last?"

"I'm not stupid, if that's what you're trying to hint."

Sasuke scoffed. "I don't hint anything. If I want to tell you I think you're stupid, I'll tell you."

"So you don't want to head to the café?"

The Uchiha took his time answering the question. He rubbed his sore muscles, flexed his legs, and prodded his bruise shortly before finally sighing and running a hand through his hair. "Not today, Naruto," he said. "Maybe some other weekend."

Naruto shrugged lightly. "That's fine. It's too hot out, anyway. Do you mind if I stay?"

"I'd like that," Sasuke said with a smirk.

"Do you want to talk about what's bothering you?"

"Don't push it."

"Damn."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Saturday, Sasuke woke up at noon with a full twelve hours of sleep. Naruto had left at eleven o'clock the night before with only a few words spoken between the boys, but all of the words said.

The young Uchiha set on his way to check up on Itachi once more. Kisame opened the door without the slightest hint of a new bruise or cut, but there were deep bags beneath his eyes.

"He's not here," the shark-resembling man mumbled wearily. "He went to work."

"Work?" Sasuke asked curiously. Kisame gestured for him to enter. "You let him go to work like that?"

Kisame rubbed one hand over his face and tried to stifle a yawn. "He snuck out when I dozed off for a few minutes. I called the department store and they said he checked in."

"Why do you look like you're about to drop any second?"

Groan.

"Your brother's been having nightmares."

Sasuke was somewhat taken aback before a strong sense of guilt washed over him. He had dumped his brother onto Kisame, and even the adult man was no match for Itachi on crack – literally.

"I swear to the fishes, Uchiha Sasuke, if you dare to even take a _whiff_ of cocaine, I will have you slaughtered and cut up into tiny pieces. Then, I will take those tiny pieces and feed them to little fish, and I'll feed those little fish to bigger fish, and then I'll feed those bigger fish to sharks, and then –"

"The side effects are that bad?" Sasuke asked, not waiting for an answer.

"Moody little bugger, that Itachi is," Kisame said with a grimace. "The one time he finally shows emotions, it's attitude. It's like how you get when you wake up. Grumpy and ugly."

"I'm not ugly when I wake up."

"So you don't deny the grumpy part!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "What kind of nightmares could a cocaine addict possibly have?"

"You tell me. He doesn't want to speak to anyone."

Guilt and annoyance were battling with Sasuke's conscience, mingling with exhaustion from yesterday's workout to force the Uchiha to lean against the nearest wall. The sigh that escaped his lips was shuddering.

"Look, Kisame, I'll take care of him now," he said, defeated. "He's being really difficult right now, so I don't want you to have a hard time –"

"Oh, _heck_ no."

Kisame shook his head fervently, wagging his finger at the same time to create a bizarre, nauseating contortion of shaking.

"If he's being difficult with _me_, do you honestly think you can put up with him? You need to focus on winning that marathon, kiddo. Leave the sedative injecting, Itachi struggling, and apron wearing to me."

"But he's –"

"I'll pick him up from work, give him his meds, and he'll be sleeping like an upturned goldfish in no time."

"Kisame –"

"Scram, kid! It's a Saturday! Sleep in! Take a walk! Get some gigs at the café! You're only sixteen years old. There's got to be a lot more fun things to do than hang around waiting for your brother to get home."

Sasuke frowned.

He almost didn't remember he was sixteen. Just sixteen. Only sixteen. He didn't feel like he was a teenager anymore. He felt older. Much older.

"Call me?" Sasuke asked before he left.

Kisame grinned. "With pleasure. Now go play with Barbies or something."

Friday wasn't any better. Kisame had called Sasuke early in the morning to tell the Uchiha that his brother had gone to work once more. He had come home at the right time with a silent, brooding aura, had taken his medication, and had fallen asleep immediately.

"Nightmares?" Sasuke had asked.

_"Not tonight."_

Sasuke had gone to the café, free for as many gigs as Temari had to offer, but she could only give him three time slots. She said Sunday was a busy day, and there were five time slots open in a row, but she would not give them all to Sasuke for performance reasons. Despite Sasuke being an amazing performer, she said, she did not want the music to be repetitious.

When Sasuke returned home, Kisame had called, informing Sasuke that Itachi had returned.

"May I talk to him?" asked Sasuke.

_"Sure, hold up."_

Kisame's voice distanced as his mouth moved away from the phone to speak to Itachi.

_"Itachi, Sasuke wants to talk to you."_

Pause. Sasuke could not hear what Itachi was saying, but Kisame's replies gave Itachi's responses away.

_"What do you mean you don't want to talk to him?"_

Pause.

_"Itachi, get back here! Hey! Son of a batch of cookies . . ."_

Kisame's voice was clearer now as he spoke directly to Sasuke. _"Listen, Sasuke –"_

"I heard. Thanks."

And he hung up.

He had awoken on Monday to yet another empty house, with the food stocks running low despite his efforts at the café. The toaster waffles were finished. Everything else needed to be cooked, or boiled, or put in the microwave, and Sasuke was in no mood to wait on anything. He simply guzzled a cup of orange juice, grabbed his work-heavy bag, and headed outside.

The media was absent. Then again, so was Neji. The boy had not shown up at his usual spot after Chemistry. Sasuke noticed Naruto grimace.

"What's wrong with Hyuuga?" he asked the blond.

"Neji's uncle isn't a very nice guy," was all Naruto replied with, leaving Sasuke to imagine the Hyuuga hanging from the ceiling by his shoelaces.

Rather than a lunch detention with Ibiki, Sasuke received a lunch detention from someone else:

The Sound 5.

Jirobo pulled Sasuke in unexpectedly and slammed him against an all-too-familiar wall. Sasuke let out a scream of agony as his bruise was abused and clenched his teeth, squeezing his eyes against the pain that had been awakened.

"Jirobo, you asshole! Don't hurt the fucker!"

Sasuke felt the fists digging into his shoulders remove themselves. He slid slowly against the wall until he was touching the floor, opening his eyes at last to stare up at Tayuya.

"Uchiha," she said quietly. "He's getting worse."

Blink. Blink.

Nothing had rung a bell.

"What are you talking about?" he whispered.

"Kimimaro, fucktard!" she exclaimed. "He's getting worse! His breathing is changing and he's coughing up blood like there's no fucking tomorrow!"

Sasuke cast his eyes to the floor, waiting for Tayuya to continue her explanation. For once, he did not want to interrupt her with a sarcastic comment. He looked up shortly to fix his eyes upon her slightly-prominent belly before returning his gaze to the tiles.

"And if he doesn't get an operation to fix that lung of his . . ."

Tayuya did not finish her sentence. Sasuke's mind finished it for him.

_He's going to die._

_An innocent teenager is going to die because his life is unfair._

"And that's where you come in."

She nudged him roughly with her foot so he would look up at her.

"We need you to win that marathon."

Sasuke's confused eyes told her to continue.

"That prize money at the end is five times the amount we need for Kimimaro's operation. If we could just have a thousand dollars . . ."

She trailed off once more, waiting for Sasuke's reaction. The Uchiha did not move for several seconds, running the numbers through his head.

"Don't make me beg, Uchiha! We're willing to do anything! We'll even pay you back when we can!"

Sasuke nodded his head ever-so-slowly.

"Fine," he whispered hesitantly. "If I win the marathon, I'll give you a thousand dollars for his operation."

Kimimaro had saved his life. Twice. If Tayuya cared about him enough to practically beg, then he was someone important to someone else. He had a purpose in life. And it wasn't fair that simply because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, he was now barely alive with a prosthetic lung eating away at him from the inside.

If Sasuke hated anything more than the world, it was when innocent people had to die.

Tayuya did not move. She stood over Sasuke, her hand outstretched to pull him up.

"What's the catch?" she asked when he was looking down at her for a change.

Sasuke shook his head. "He saved my life. But I can't guarantee I'll win the marathon."

"You'll win it," Tayuya said with a small smirk.

Sasuke's mind added an "_or else_._"_

"Why can't you raise enough money?" he asked as they stood there awkwardly.

"Only Kidomaru and I have jobs, and we get paid minimum wage. It's much quicker to win the money and pay it back later than it is to save it up. We . . . don't really know how much longer Kimimaro's going to hold out."

At the surprised look Sasuke's face gave when Tayuya mentioned her job, the fuchsia-haired woman grimaced.

"We're not fucking criminals," she said. "We're a gang, but we don't rob banks or sell weed and all that shit. We just don't want anyone to fucking mess with us."

"Right."

Sasuke slapped himself mentally at the thought of mourning over a thousand dollars. He felt the power of money suddenly. Just the simple knowledge of losing a thousand dollars saddened him slightly.

He hated money.

"Thanks, Uchiha," said Tayuya. "No, hey – thanks, _Sasuke_."

"I'll do anything to throw off karma," he replied.

Tayuya did not understand, and he thought it was better that way. He did not want karma to kill Kimimaro.

"Tell Kimimaro I'm praying for him, okay?"

"Do you want to see him?"

The question was sudden. Sasuke's reaction time was slower. He paused for a moment.

"Ibiki's already going to kill me. I have detention, and then I have Health class –"

Tayuya suddenly grabbed his wrist roughly and was already running with him out of the school.

_What am I doing?!_ Sasuke screamed at himself. _Ibiki will kill me! _Kakashi_ will kill me!_

He was pushed into a familiar sleek blue Honda® in the student parking lot – the very same Honda® he had been in when he and Tayuya had been fervently making out.

Jirobo was suddenly in the driver's seat. Sasuke blinked in surprise, having not seen the large boy – man?! – run.

"You can't keep making excuses, Uchiha," Tayuya told him as they drove away. "You've got to live for the moment, especially when someone's as sick as Kimimaro. Say hello now so you won't regret it if you never get to say hello again."

Sasuke hated himself for feeling surprised at Tayuya's sudden wisdom.

The exchange of words was scarce before they reached the apartment Sasuke had seen once. The streets were empty. Everyone was at work or school, and those who weren't were intelligent enough not to walk outside on such a scorching day.

Jirobo led the way. Sasuke felt like he was the bodyguard of the group. He had a feeling if he pulled out a gun and fired at Tayuya from a mile away, Jirobo's body would suddenly replace Tayuya's in the blink of an eye.

That, or Jirobo would appear right in front of Sasuke, wrench the gun from his hand, rip his arm off, and feed it to his piranhas.

Sasuke thought the latter was most likely.

Tayuya knocked on the first door inside of the apartment.

"It's me, fucker."

The door opened to reveal Kidomaru, his face lined with weariness. "What the hell are you doing out of school – what the hell is _he_ doing here?!"

Tired brown eyes had met wary obsidian ones.

Tayuya pushed herself inside, pulling Sasuke by the wrist behind her. "Don't get so riled up, you pussy. He's going to pay for Kimimaro's operation. He just wants to say hi."

Sasuke stared around the smallish apartment for a few moments as he passed the living room. The walls were a fading shade of blue, with a few chipping pieces here and there, but the overall condition of the apartment was clean. It was simplistic, with only a single set of furniture in the corner of the room and a small kitchen.

It reminded Sasuke of his own apartment, except without the paintings and photographs.

Kimimaro was in the second bedroom of the apartment. Tayuya did not knock on his door. She simply pushed it open and beckoned Sasuke in.

"Kimi?" she whispered at the motionless bulge on the bed in the corner.

Sasuke found a knot in his throat awfully hard to swallow. His steps were slowed, reluctant. He felt intrusive all of a sudden. Kimimaro lay soundlessly beneath thick gray sheets. Only a simple IV drip connected with the sallow skin of his hand. Sasuke remembered Tsunade giving the mechanism to him a long time ago.

Sasuke tried not to think about where Kimimaro would be if she hadn't.

Emerald was suddenly contrasting brightly and beautifully against the dull colors of the room. Kimimaro's eyes were open.

"Uchiha wanted to say hi," she told him.

Offside, she told Sasuke not to mention anything about the operation. The Uchiha nodded.

"I heard you were really sick," he began uncomfortably. "Tayuya thought I should give you my wishes in person."

A smile played with Kimimaro's lips. "I am not as sick as you think I am," he said in a weak voice.

"Oh yeah," Tayuya said sarcastically. "Throwing up blood doesn't make you sick at all. That's totally normal."

"I do not want to keep you long," Kimimaro continued anyway, the smile still on his chapped lips. "If I know Tayuya well enough, she has pulled you out of school without a second's thoughts to the consequences."

Sasuke smirked. "She told me to live for the moment."

"And indeed, she is right."

A comfortable silence blanketed them, but Kimimaro could not handle the extra layer, and he did not think Sasuke would appreciate the burden, either. He continued.

"You must be feeling rather awkward, with a loss for words," he said.

Sasuke raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Psychic powers?" he asked jokingly.

"The best in the business. It's called logic."

Sasuke laughed.

Laughed.

"I like your laugh," Tayuya told him. "Stop looking like a fucking prick all the time and laugh more."

She liked his laugh?

Sasuke did not think his laugh was likeable. He preferred Naruto's melodious, innocent laugh.

"I hate my laugh," he said to feed the conversation. "I sound evil."

Kimimaro's smile only widened and he closed his beautiful, beautiful eyes. "I like it," he agreed with Tayuya. "It makes you sound younger."

Sasuke didn't know what he was feeling. He was happy. Jovial. Something inside of his gut was bubbling. It was such a small compliment. A simple "I like your laugh" had sent his emotions into turmoil and confusion and now he did not know which one to pick.

They liked his laugh.

"Thanks," he whispered. "I don't get to hear your laugh."

"Tell me a joke," Kimimaro said. "I love jokes."

Tayuya rolled her eyes. "He says he loves jokes, but he just listens to them with this single expression on his face. He never laughs. He'll just say he thought the joke was funny, but he'll never laugh."

"Tell me a joke," repeated Kimimaro. "Please?"

". . . I don't know too many jokes," said Sasuke. "I can't really –"

"Please?"

Sasuke silenced.

"He thinks anything is funny, Uchiha. Just give it a whack."

Sigh.

"Okay, this worker needed a few days off of work because he was really tired," he said, remembering a joke Kisame had told him a long time ago when Itachi had just begun to crack beneath the pressures of work. "But he knew the boss was too strict. He thought maybe if he could act insane, they would let him take a few days off.

"So he hung himself upside down from the ceiling and began to make funny noises. A co-worker asked him what he was doing. He said he was pretending to be a light bulb so the boss would think he was crazy and would let him off of work for a few days."

Sasuke had to take a breath to finish the joke. "A few minutes later, the boss came in and found the worker and asked him what he was doing. The worker said he was a light bulb. The boss let him have a few days off, thinking he was too stressed.

"Happy, the worker jumped down and walked out of the room. When his coworker followed him out, the boss asked him where he thought he was going. The coworker said, 'I'm going home, too. I can't work in the dark.'"

Sasuke waited, feeling like an idiot. He did not find the joke funny in the first place. Tayuya was smirking at him, except Sasuke was not sure whether it was because she was humored or because she was laughing at Sasuke's embarrassment.

But Kimimaro's mouth suddenly opened.

And he was laughing.

Laughing.

It was a soft, slightly hoarse sound that came from his vocal chords and it lasted for a while, breaking the awkwardness in the air. Tayuya looked absolutely shocked.

"You're _laughing!_" she exclaimed. "At the most retarded joke _ever!_ What the hell?! Why don't you laugh at my jokes?! At least I tell them with expression! Uchiha over here had the same fucking voice the whole time!"

"His monotony was the funny part," Kimimaro said with a soft smile on his face, his eyes scrunched in good humor. "It was an excellent attempt."

Sasuke felt proud.

The good kind of pride.

"I like your laugh," he said quietly.

"As I do yours."

"Zabuza will kill me if I don't return," Sasuke said.

Kimimaro lifted his IV-bearing hand and motioned to the door. "Feel free."

"Thanks." He paused, searching for the right words. "Get better, Kimimaro. People are waiting for you."

"I'll have to get better if I want to hear any more of those monotonous jokes of yours, Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke let himself laugh.

Kimimaro smiled.

And Sasuke left.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Therapy lesson number something."

Sasuke was seated in front of Kakashi that night, his hands crossed in his lap, his face indifferent. He had been the one to call the session. Kakashi noticed that he had gone back to hiding his emotions with inhuman accuracy.

"Uchiha Itachi."

"Is it really cocaine withdrawal?" Sasuke asked immediately. "He doesn't want to do anything. He doesn't even want to speak to me anymore."

"Kisame told me," the silver-haired man replied to his student. "And essentially, if Itachi's getting nightmares on top of everything, it has to be the withdrawal."

Sasuke rubbed his face with both of his hands. "When is he going to get better, Kakashi?" he asked tiredly. "I admit that I can't handle everything on my own."

"And you shouldn't be trying to, either. You're supposed to be sixteen, Sasuke. Not thirty. Don't try and grow up too fast."

"Too late for that."

Kakashi did not object.

"Why don't we call him now?" he asked. "He should be off of his department store shift."

"Kisame gives him his medication and he goes right to sleep."

"Then let's visit him."

"He'll be asleep."

"We'll wake him up."

"Are you insane?"

"Come on."

Sasuke seemed to be being led by everyone that day. He barely had time to lock his door before Kakashi was yanking at his arm and forcing him into his Jeep®, out of his Jeep®, down the walkway to Kisame's house, and through the bluish man's door.

"He's not asleep yet," said Kisame. He was smiling slightly. "And he's less grumpy today. I think the meds are really taking their course."

Itachi sat on the guestroom's bed, his face buried in his pillow and the clothes he had borrowed from Kisame strewn across the room, leaving him in nothing but boxer shorts and socks. Sasuke thought he looked rather comical.

"'Tachi?" he called.

Itachi didn't move.

Kakashi and Kisame slowly backed out of the room to leave the Uchiha brothers with their own privacy. Kakashi kept close to the door – just in case. He trusted Itachi, but he did not dare trust Itachi with cocaine running through his body.

"Itachi, come on. You didn't talk to me yesterday."

Itachi grumbled and buried his head further into the pillow.

"You're being worse of an asshole than I am."

Finally, Itachi turned around. His eyes were bloodshot and the bruises on his face were fading slightly, but he looked as alert as ever.

"What do you want from me?" he asked irritably.

"What kind of stupid question is that?" Sasuke snapped back. "I want my brother back. What the hell do you think you're doing? You don't act like this."

"I'm just trying to get through this withdrawal business," said Itachi.

"You shouldn't be in withdrawal in the first place! I can't believe you want more of that crap. Cocaine is a _drug_, Itachi. The ultimate low. I can't believe you want to be a part of that." He saw his brother open his mouth and moved to interrupt him immediately. "Don't feed me bullshit about how good it makes you feel! For five months, when I was going through all of that trauma after that accident, the thought of drugs didn't even cross my mind."

"You haven't _felt_ it," Itachi said honestly. "You don't know what it's _like _to have this feeling that you know it's bad for you, but you just want _more. _I'm fighting it, Sasuke. I feel like I could drop dead any second, but I'm fighting it."

"So why wouldn't you talk to me yesterday?"

Itachi groaned and fell back onto the bed, putting his head into his pillow. "I don't want to talk to _anybody_ right now. I want to stay in bed and go to sleep and wake up feeling better."

Sasuke's expression softened. "So you're really trying to fight it?"

"With my life."

Sasuke sighed. "You won't tell me the story?"

"Not yet."

"Will you come home eventually?"

Itachi turned onto his back to face his brother. He pulled Sasuke down by the front of his shirt and wrapped one arm around his thinned body, the other ruffling his spiky hair.

"Count on it."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

When Sasuke returned home, alone, he found a surprise sitting at his doorstep:

Uzumaki Naruto.

The blond boy looked up at Sasuke with a serious expression.

"I want you to tell me what's going on, or I'm not leaving."

So Sasuke opened the door, let him inside, and told him.

He was sick of secrets.

-------------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] Itachi's hair:** I had a few suggestions of taking a picture of the drawing I made, and I was going to do that today. Then I realized that as I type this, it's 12:48 in the morning and I've been editing this chapter all day, and I still have a Biology test to study for tomorrow (which is stupidly right before the Biology exam on Tuesday . . .). But I **promise I will have it for the next chapter.**

**[2] Anorexia Nervosa:** It turns out you can get it at a very young age. I had a friend that had anorexia. It's not pleasant. She had to move away for doctoral treatment, but she is looking better than ever now.

**[3] Sheet Music:** I had to do this last year and coincidentally, today, we actually did this again during band. It does _not_ take an hour! It took me four hours to finish everything. Then again, I'm not Uchiha Sasuke.

**[4] Adults:** I used to think so, too.

Excuse any mistakes. Excuse me if I didn't reply to your review. Things are just going downhill in life from here.


	26. Puzzle

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I wouldn't take so much pleasure in writing this.

**Author's Note:** School. Is. Over.

End of story.

I need to finish this story and a new story over the summer. IB won't give me any time to work on one next year, so I'm really afraid of that.

**PICTURE PEOPLE:** Those looking forward to the picture, I'm afraid I broke a promise. I just spent the last two hours (no joke) trying to upload that Itachi picture from my camera. First of all, the picture was horrible. I'm an author, not a photographer. Second, the connection . . . I don't know what was wrong with it. Then I tried uploading a demo picture, but the uploader wouldn't work!

Grr!!!!!!!

My deepest, deepest apologies. Please, forgive me, and enjoy this drama-packed chapter instead.

**Chapter 26  
**…**:::Puzzle:::…  
****Kanjani∞**

**WARNING: Real, believable emotions. Some people call this "OOCness."**

Sasuke woke up suddenly.

"A thousand dollars?!"

His eyes were wide as realization suddenly dawned onto him. It was six o'clock in the morning. He was sitting up from the floor, light beads of sweat dripping down his panting, bare chest. He ran one hand through his hair.

"A thousand dollars?!" he exclaimed once more in a harsh whisper.

What had he done?

He and Itachi could survive for a month on a thousand dollars, and Sasuke was going to give it away for free. Maybe he should have thought about it more. Maybe he should have just told Tayuya to wait.

"Stop worrying over that."

There was another presence in the room. This one woke up groggily, rubbing his eyes and yawning widely before he spoke again.

"You did the right thing. And Tayuya said she'd pay you back eventually."

Sasuke turned to stare at Naruto. The blond was occupying his bed, dressed exactly like Sasuke: in boxer shorts. He had fallen asleep in the Uchiha's house from the previous night after he and Sasuke had had a long conversation together. Sasuke had called Tsunade for her permission before waking up Naruto to send him to bed.

"What if I don't win the tournament?"

"For all that is good and pure, Sasuke, you'll _win_ the tournament! And there's still prize money for second and third place, anyway."

Sasuke was somewhat glad Naruto had not offered to pay for it himself. The blond knew how much Sasuke wanted to help Kimimaro with his own actions and so he stayed out of the deal.

The Uchiha sighed and ran another hand through his hair. "I'm going to go take a shower."

Naruto shoved Sasuke's pillow over his head. "I'm going to sleep until the alarm clock goes off."

Sasuke made breakfast for the two of them using the groceries he had bought with the money he had earned from the café: toaster waffles, eggs, and orange juice. Plates were placed on the dining table before he left to make a phone call.

"Hey, Kisame."

_Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz . . ._

_Bzz . . . Bzz . . . BZZ!!!!_

"Where the heck is the snooze button on this thing?!" Naruto's voice came groggily from Sasuke's room.

Kisame went into a fit of chuckles over the other side of the phone. _"Did you do something naughty while Itachi was away?"_ he teased.

"You're gayer than I am, Kisame." Sasuke paused for a moment, listening to the sound of a sudden _thud_. He did not have to turn around to know Naruto had just fallen off of the bed. "How's Itachi?"

_"Off to work, but he's really fighting it. No nightmares, no mood swings, no swings at my head for that matter. I think he's almost healed."_

"Will he be able to come home?"

_"Let's get him in for a checkup first. I want to make sure he's completely stable before I hand over the reigns to you, kiddo. I don't want him going all kung-fu on you and then you have to end up calling Kakashi at four in the morning or something."_

"Stupid alarm clock . . . no sleep . . . snooze button . . ."

Naruto walked into the room with a horrible case of bed hair. He pulled at the elastic band of his boxers out of habit.

"You suck, you know that?"

_"Hi, Naruto!"_ Kisame shouted over the phone so the blond could hear.

"Hi, Kisame!" Naruto replied, equally as loud.

Sasuke groaned.

"I'll see you this afternoon, Kisame."

_"Bye, chicken butt. Bye, sunshine!"_

Sasuke hung up and turned around with mock anger. "Why do you get 'sunshine' and I get 'chicken butt'?"

"Because!" was Naruto's immediate reply. He ruffled his golden hair with too broad of a grin for Sasuke's liking. "Your bed hair isn't as bad as mine!"

Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "Go pick anything out of my closet and put some clothes on."

"No, thanks! I think I'll go like this to school!" said Naruto brightly.

Without warning, Sasuke suddenly whirled around and smacked Naruto's bare stomach with the palm of his hand. The result was a resounding _smack!_ and a loud groan from Naruto.

"On second thought," the blond said weakly, "I think a shirt would do good."

He went to school in jeans and a t-shirt that concealed a bright scarlet handprint.

School was as average as ever and Sasuke did not enjoy the routine: class, class, class, class, detention, class, detention. Neji was present that day. The mystery that had shrouded him only intrigued Sasuke and he closely inspected the Hyuuga for any hints of anything, but Neji was as unblemished and flawless as usual.

"Why is it that you must continue to stare, Uchiha?" the Hyuuga had asked Sasuke with a hint of annoyance during P.E., finally noticing the extent of the scrutinizing gaze he was placed beneath.

"You were absent," Sasuke replied bluntly.

"My uncle needed help around the house and requested my twenty-four-hour attention."

"There's more to that."

Neji simply turned around, officially annoyed. "You're not the only one that gets to keep secrets around here, Uchiha."

Itachi was present when Sasuke returned to see him at Kisame's house. He said he had just been to see Tsunade.

"She said I was entering my 'second phase' of cocaine withdrawal," he said tiredly. "It is simply a few days of fatigue and angry outbursts here and there."

"So nothing new," Sasuke said with a slight smirk. He mentally noted that Itachi had regained his formal way of speech, steering away from conjunctions. "Will you be able to come home?"

"I, apparently, will be very irritated and moody according to withdrawal symptoms, but if you are willing to put up with that, I am willing to return."

"Again," Sasuke repeated with a wider smirk this time, "nothing new."

The first thing Itachi did when he got home was sleep.

The first thing Sasuke did when he got home was sleep, too. Right next to Itachi.

"Promise you won't go into a random addiction attack in the middle of the night and shake me awake?" he whispered as his brother's head hit the pillow.

"Promise."

"Will you tell me the story now?"

"Not yet."

"Okay."

For once, Sasuke didn't mind. He was going to be patient and wait until Itachi wanted to tell him the story, just like Itachi had been patient for him.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Wednesday.

Sasuke's life had gotten back into its complete routine. He awoke without another presence in the house. Rather than walking to school alone, however, Naruto had picked him up. A waffle-eating Sasuke had heard knocking at his door in the morning, opening it to find the blond standing there with a bundle of clothes in his hand.

"They're the clothes I borrowed," he said sheepishly. "I had them washed first."

"Come in."

Sasuke opened the door wider to let the blond through and offered him a half-eaten toaster waffle, to which Naruto politely declined.

"Itachi came home last night."

"Is he feeling better?"

"Something about a second phase." Sasuke waved his hand dismissively. "Excessive fatigue and mood swings for a few days. It's nothing I can't handle."

"Did he tell you yet?"

"Not yet, but I'm fine with that." Sasuke let the rim of his wooden cup rest on his bottom lip thoughtfully. "A part of me doesn't want to know, anyway."

Naruto smiled. "You're really growing –"

"Growing up," Sasuke finished for him, grimacing. "I know. I've been told that a lot, and it really doesn't make me feel any better."

Itachi returned that day with something that made Sasuke smile slightly:

Glasses.

"You look really . . . different, now," he said, inspecting the thick rims resting on his brother's nose. "Short hair, new glasses – what next? A face lift?"

"Now that I can see you clearly, I can gladly beat you up," Itachi replied sarcastically. "My optician finally finished the prescription I had gone in for a while ago and called me to ask me to pick up my glasses. Since I am farsighted, it is not a necessity to wear these glasses all the time."

Sasuke stared once more, his smile only widening. "You look _really_ weird."

"Thank you dearly, little brother."

"I made dinner if you're not too tired to eat." A slender hand gestured towards the dining table cluttered with plates and bowls. "Your first real dinner. Kisame can't be too great of a cook."

Itachi seemed almost grateful. His dark eyes swept over Sasuke for an instant behind his new lenses. "I did not each much in the first place," he commented with a smirk. "It looks like we have switched roles."

"You can read my thoughts, can't you?" Sasuke demanded as he pulled back a chair for his brother to sit in. "Everyone can read what I'm thinking nowadays."

"We only state the obvious, Sasuke."

"Just eat the damn spaghetti and move on with your life."

He smiled, though. Finally, things seemed to settle in his home life.

Nothing could have prepared him for what was to happen.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Four days later came Monday.

Four days later, something happened.

Sasuke entered school as if it was a normal day. It _was_ a normal day, he thought. Normal. His routine had been set: wake up, no Itachi, eat breakfast, leave. Itachi's withdrawal symptoms had almost diminished and so he was already ready for a full week of work once more, on the lookout for a second job as well.

Sasuke sat down in Chemistry. He greeted Kiba and Naruto (Kiba now officially off of crutches, but still limping along the way). Sakura even smiled at him with a bubbly hello, and he smirked right back.

There was a sudden crackle in the room. Every student looked towards the PA speaker directly beside the chalkboard. Asuma jumped as the speaker came to life. His father's voice droned tonelessly from its mouth.

"Students, I have an important announcement," Sarutobi said.

Not everyone was listening. Some students took the opportunity to plug their earphones into their ears and turn on their music. Others laid their heads on their desks for a few more seconds of sleep. Sasuke, however, exchanged glances with Naruto, confused.

"It's probably about the concert," whispered Naruto. "An official announcement or something."

Sarutobi cleared his throat over the speaker.

"Please, a moment of silence. Kimimaro Kaguya has passed away last night after suffering from a serious illness and will no longer be amongst us."

What?

. . . What?

Sasuke's brain did not register the words.

_Kimimaro Kaguya has passed away last night . . ._

_Kimimaro Kaguya has passed away last night . . ._

_. . . has passed away last night . . ._

_. . . away last night . . ._

What?

No.

Sasuke didn't understand. He shook his head. He didn't understand, didn't understand, didn't understand. All around him were confused glances and bewildered expressions.

"Who the hell is Kimimaro Kaguya?" one boy asked gruffly from somewhere to his left.

"I think Sarutobi might've said his name wrong," a girl replied with the pop of her gum. "That geezer's getting too old to function."

"Does anyone know who the heck that kid is?"

But Sasuke stood frozen.

Frozen.

_Kimimaro Kaguya –_

"Sasuke?"

Naruto was looking at him worriedly, the only trace of sadness being the expression he was giving off.

Of course.

Naruto had not known Kimimaro at all. Only one encounter with the boy had set his judgments, and no other encounter had given him emotions towards him. It was only the simple implication that an acquaintance had died that saddened him.

But the blond did not shed tears.

_Why?_ Sasuke thought.

Why wasn't anyone shedding tears?

Was Kimimaro not worth it?

"I think you might want to go to the –"

Sasuke was already standing up, his mind in a trance and his body moving on his own. His brain refused to interpret the words that had been sent over the speaker. He refused to.

Kimimaro wasn't dead.

Wasn't dead.

He had just been with him a week ago. Exactly a week, he and Kimimaro had been smiling and laughing and telling each other that they would see each other to tell more monotonous jokes –

It wasn't true.

He moved robotically from the room. No one called out after him. He only heard hushed questions as he left with an aim to find the Sound 5's room as quickly as possible.

Yes, yes.

He would find their room and open their door, and Tayuya and Jirobo would be in there. Jirobo would slam him against the wall and Tayuya would ask him what the fuck he was looking at, and then he would close the door with a smile on his face knowing all was right with the world and no one was dead and everything was going to be just fine.

But he opened the door, and no one was there.

No one.

_Coincidence_, he told himself. _They're working and taking good care of Kimimaro. Merely coincidence._

His legs threatened to give in on him. His throat closed. His face was warming up.

_Kimimaro Kaguya has passed away last night . . ._

Kimimaro Kaguya was still alive.

Or else.

Sasuke found himself moving to Kakashi's room. It was as if his body was programmed to enter the room at the slightest hint of trouble, even if Sasuke did not know exactly where he was going. The gift of speech and sentences returned to his mouth the second his hand twisted the cool metal of the doorknob and flung the door open.

Kakashi turned around on his rotating chair. His visible eyebrow was lifted in sorrow.

"I tried to tell you before he made the announcement," he said quietly.

"Kakashi . . ."

Sasuke's own voice was too loud for his ears.

"Don't lie to me. Tell me the truth, okay?"

"Sasuke, please. You have to accept the fact that –"

Sasuke's body was shaking. He closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and clenched his fists. "Kakashi, if you lie to me, I swear I will smash everything in this room."

Kakashi stood up slowly, as if Sasuke was a wild rabbit and he did not want to scare him away, and moved to lock the door with the bolt fastened to the frame itself. He stood to face his pupil at last.

"Listen to me, Sasuke," he said. "Kimimaro Kaguya has died."

Silence.

"Okay."

". . . Okay?"

Kakashi lifted an eyebrow in worry. Sasuke, even with all the growth he had done in the past months, was not supposed to take the news so calmly.

"Yeah. Okay."

"Sasuke, I think you might need a moment to get everything out . . ."

Sasuke shook his head.

"I don't need 'a moment', Kakashi. I'm fine."

So Uchiha Sasuke ran to the door, unfastened the lock, wrenched open the barrier so that its hinges squeaked dangerously in protest, and ran away.

He remembered running. Running was good. He remembered the feeling of running from the world, knowing it would all crash onto him again. And again. And again. Just when one piece of drama was solved, another came in.

It was like a never-ending puzzle. Life was the picture he wanted to complete, and each event was just another puzzle piece. Solving a problem meant putting another puzzle piece together . . . but he was still left with the other pieces. And there were too many pieces for him to handle. He was getting frustrated. He wanted to walk away from the puzzle.

He could hear the heavy steps of Kakashi's combat boots behind him, but he refused to stop for anyone. If he stopped, he would remember the words from the announcement, and then maybe he would believe them.

But he didn't want to believe them.

"Sasuke, please don't act like this."

Act like what?

He wasn't acting, he thought. This was reality. Cold, harsh reality. And in reality, Uchiha Sasuke had emotions. In reality, people died.

He hated reality.

His legs finally decided they didn't want to help him with his plan of escape. They gave out on him when he reached the school parking lot. Sasuke fell harshly to the concrete, feeling the skin of his palms scrape off and his jeans rip from his knees. He didn't move for a while. Kakashi finally caught up with him in time to watch him yell.

Sasuke screamed. He screamed as loud as his lungs would let him, his shaking hands pulling at clumps of his hair as he leaned forwards to touch his forehead to the concrete, tears pricking at his eyes.

He screamed, his body weakening as he slid over to lay on his back, his body convulsing with suppressed sobs.

"It's okay to cry, Sasuke," Kakashi said softly.

"No, it's not!" Sasuke yelled at him.

Kakashi was pretty sure all of Konoha could hear him.

"Crying isn't going to bring him back! He can't possibly be dead, Kakashi! He was just here! And what the _fuck_ is with that announcement?! Are they kidding me?! He dies and all he gets is an announcement and a fucking moment of silence?! Is this what he's worth?!"

"It is not the school's responsibility to do anything about his death, Sasuke. It is up to his guardians."

His guardians. Sasuke had never thought about his parents before. It seemed he did not have any. As a matter-of-fact, it seemed that all of the Sound 5 did not have parents since they were all living in the same apartment.

Sasuke silenced and flung one arm over his eyes, his body still shaking with anger, confusion, and sorrow.

"I'm going home," he said quietly.

"Let me give you a ride," said Kakashi, understanding. Sasuke didn't need a therapy lesson. He needed to deal with a fact of life: people died. There was no therapy involved. Just time to think, and maybe a friend to talk to.

Kakashi reminded himself to tell Naruto to visit him.

"No, thanks."

Sasuke pushed himself weakly from the concrete, not bothering to brush the pebbles from his hair. His sudden mood change did not surprise Kakashi at all. The man watched Sasuke walk away without another exchange of words.

The second he got home, he collapsed onto the first couch he came across and slept. He didn't want to deal with the world for a while.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Hey."

Sasuke opened his aching eyes. Someone was standing next to him.

"How're you feeling?"

Naruto.

The Uchiha finally made out the spiked hair and orange shirt from the light of the dying sun. He groaned and rubbed one eye. His back ached as he sat up on the couch.

"You don't look too good."

"What are you doing here?" croaked Sasuke, still rubbing his eyes.

"I came straight here the second school was over," said Naruto as he stepped back and sat on the closest chair. "Kakashi let me borrow his spare key so I could get in because he knew you'd be sleeping, and I've just been kind of waiting for you to wake up. Hold on for a second."

The blond disappeared as Sasuke ran his hands repeatedly through his hair. Sasuke's entire body ached from the awkward position he had slept in. He winced when he heard the distinct _crack_ in his back as he tried to sit in a better position.

Naruto returned quickly with two wooden bowls in his hands. He set one down on the coffee table and handed one to Sasuke. The Uchiha took it cautiously with unsteady hands.

"Chocolate ice cream," Naruto told him quietly, handing him a spoon as well. "Granny recommended ice cream and chocolate for you since they're good makeshift antidepressants, so I bought a combination."

Sasuke stared at the bowl and grimaced inwardly.

He hated sweets.

But Naruto had gone through the trouble of buying him the treat and then staying over since school ended. Sasuke sighed. The least he could do was take a bite and then throw it back up later.

"Thanks," he whispered hoarsely before he put a spoon tentatively to his lips.

Naruto continued on with his quiet speech, not noticing the internal battle the Uchiha was having with the dessert. "Sakura wanted to come with me. She's good at the comforting thing, and I'm not, but I told her you wouldn't like that."

"I don't need comforting," Sasuke said bitterly after gagging over the ice cream.

"A close friend of yours died and you don't need comforting?"

"Don't tell me he died."

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "He died, Sasuke. I'm really sorry, but you've got to deal with it."

"I don't need reminding every minute of my life!"

Sasuke put his bowl down on the coffee table and moved to stand, his aching body crying in protest.

"He's Falling up to Heaven, Sasuke," Naruto said quickly, his voice intense. "There isn't anything to worry over."

Sasuke whirled around, his face a contortion of anger and a hint of sorrow.

"You're an idiot, Naruto!" he screamed, grabbing hold of the front of the blonde's shirt. "Falling up to Heaven?! What a fucking fantasy! He's dead! He was an innocent kid and now he's dead!"

"If he's innocent, that means he's in Heaven," Naruto replied calmly. His sapphire eyes stared unwaveringly into Sasuke's obsidian orbs.

Sasuke stared right back at him, his eyes ablaze. "Your logic makes no sense," he spat as he roughly released Naruto and collapsed into the nearest chair. "You can say that only because he wasn't that close to you! If it was Kiba, you'd be crying all over the floor by now!"

"You're pretty angry right now. Try and calm down."

"I'm not angry! I'm just . . .!"

His voice cracked.

"Why the hell did it have to be him, huh? He didn't do anything! His life mattered so much to the Sound 5. It could have been anyone . . .!"

Naruto looked at him, his eyebrows drawn in sorrow. "Everyone has to die, Sasuke."

"But he was only seventeen!" Sasuke covered his face with his hands and his sentences were barely audible through the struggle he went through. "He was only seventeen, Naruto! He could have done so much."

"There's nothing you can do about it, Sasuke. What happened, happened."

"That's not true!" Sasuke's excitement rose, his eyebrows permanently drawn together, looking like a wounded dog that refused help.

_Stop telling me lies, lies, lies!_

"I was supposed to win the tournament! I was supposed to cure him! _I_ was supposed to be his savior!"

"What could you have possibly done yesterday, Sasuke? Will you stop and think about it for a second?"

Naruto resisted the urge to grab the Uchiha by the shoulders and shake sense into his stubborn mind.

"We are _nine_ days away from the tournament. It was his time to go. If you were one day away from the marathon, then maybe I'd agree with you, but we're so far away from the marathon that you couldn't have possible done anything to help!"

Sasuke rubbed furiously at his eyes. A single sob finally escaped his lips. "He's worth so much more than this," he whispered brokenly, turning away so that Naruto wouldn't see him. "Barely anyone knew him. They didn't know how much he tried to help people when he could. They didn't hear his laugh."

Sasuke's vision blurred terribly at the memory.

"He was worth so much more than that. So much more than a stupid announcement."

He stood up to walk to the bathroom.

"There is nothing worse than not being remembered." **[1]**

Naruto waited patiently as Sasuke washed his face several times. He looked at the melting ice cream, feeling strange all of a sudden. It was certainly a strange feeling to know that someone's existence was going to be missing, and he knew Sasuke was feeling the same way. The Uchiha was just terrible at expressing his emotions through words – or expressing emotions at all, for that matter.

"Sorry," Sasuke said in a low voice when he was done. "For screaming at you. And for calling your falling up to Heaven thing a fantasy."

Naruto smiled softly. "I came up with that phrase when my dad died," he said quietly.

Sasuke turned to him with reddened eyes, curious.

"The only way to get over death is to be optimistic about it. If you don't think the person who died is going on to a better place, you'll stay in depression for a long time." He stared at Sasuke. "Even if it hurts when it happens."

"It hurts a lot," Sasuke agreed in a quiet whisper. He felt his face heat up again at the image of Kimimaro's smiling, smiling face. "I never got to tell him another monotonous joke."

Naruto did not ask him to elaborate. He moved over on the couch to give Sasuke room to sit. Sasuke's legs buckled from weariness and stress and he sat with a heavy sigh.

"Damn it," he whispered into his hands. "It just doesn't feel real."

"If it helps, the concert for school got moved to tomorrow in honor of Kimimaro," said Naruto. "We're all going to play for him. Do you want to perform with Kiba and me? Like giving back to Kimimaro, you know?"

"Yeah, sure," Sasuke said without putting too much thought into it.

He would have to visit the Sound 5 at some point.

He hated thinking about what they must have been going through at that very moment.

The sudden opening of the door caught Naruto's attention, but Sasuke still buried his face in his hands. Itachi was revealed, slipping off his glasses and placing them into his coat pocket.

"Naruto," he greeted with a nod.

His eyes averted quickly to his little brother. He quietly closed the door, placed his keys on the table, and slid his shoes off before walking over to Sasuke. One of his hands gently brushed Sasuke's hair back from his forehead.

"Kakashi called me," he said. "How are you putting up?"

Sasuke shrugged.

"I'm going to leave this to you," Naruto said quietly, moving from the couch. He knew Itachi could provide more comfort than he ever could. He put a hand to Sasuke's shoulder. "My door's always opened. Come visit if you need to."

"Thanks for coming over," Sasuke told him before he could leave.

Naruto smiled. "Not a problem."

Itachi was left to pick up the rest of the pieces of Sasuke's broken puzzle. He sat where Naruto had once been positioned and pulled Sasuke close to him so that his brother's head rested on his chest.

Itachi did not need to say anything. He simply kept his hand around Sasuke's body and squeezed his shoulder from time to time as they sat in silence. When the stillness became unbearable, Sasuke finally turned to bury his head in his brother's shirt, gripping it tightly with whitening knuckles.

"It's not fair," he said, his voice muffled.

Itachi could feel the dampness coming from where Sasuke's eyes were pressed into his shirt. He placed a hand on his brother's shaking shoulders.

"I know," was all he said, and it was all he had to say.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke told himself he was an idiot to have gone to school.

He scolded himself. He hit himself.

He was an idiot to have stepped amidst the sea of uncaring eyes, the sea of jovial people with their cheerful auras radiating from miles away. He was the dark, seething, sorrowing aura that stood out in their sea.

Sasuke did not wear black. He did not believe in the concept; simply wearing a color would not make mourning any easier, nor did he want to attract attention to himself. His naturally dark wardrobe, however, certainly eased his nerves when it matched his mood.

Anyone that greeted the Uchiha cheerfully was returned with an icy stare that froze all of mankind three times over. He preferred the nodding acknowledgements that Naruto's –

_No, not just Naruto's_, he suddenly thought. _My friends, too._

He preferred the nodding acknowledgements that his friends gave to him in the classes. They were not drowning in misery. Sasuke did not want them to be sad because he was sad. But they chose to hide whatever happiness they had in respect to both Kimimaro and the Uchiha.

Kakashi stood outside of the Chemistry Lab during fourth period just as the bell rang to signal the start of lunch.

"I spoke with Ibiki," he said. "And he is willing to let you leave your last detention early so that you can go to the auditorium with Naruto and Kiba."

"Party," Sasuke said with monotonous sarcasm.

Kakashi nudged him a little in good nature. "The whole concert will be filmed and we'll send a copy to Kimimaro's guardians. I think you should be the one to give it to them."

Sasuke got the hint that Kakashi knew exactly who Kimimaro was living with.

"Maybe."

Maybe not.

He didn't even think the Sound 5 would have something to play the video on.

Kiba came up behind him before Sasuke could reach Ibiki. He had a slight smile on his face; it wasn't a teasing smile. Kiba was simply excited.

"Hey, man, you're still coming, right? You have to promise to show up, okay?"

"I promise," Sasuke replied quickly.

He soon found the promise hard to keep.

He was in the auditorium now, behind the stage with the rest of the students that were going to be performing in the concert. Naruto had one hand on his shoulder.

"Just like that day in the band room," he whispered into Sasuke's ear. "I'm pretty sure you don't need practice."

Sasuke nodded his head absently. His ears, however, were not focused on Naruto's voice, but rather the noises coming from behind the curtain. Every other noise was drowned out as he slowly walked to the red barrier and stood behind it, peering from over the side with a hand on the cloth's edge.

His eyes swept over the students with their happiness bright and bold, over the students who chitted-and-chatted as if nothing had changed.

As if it was just another assembly.

As if Kimimaro was just another person who died on just another day.

Sasuke's knuckles whitened as his grip tightened around the curtain. His anger was beginning to seep from deep within him.

He knew he was being selfish, but he didn't care. He didn't want them to wallow in misery. He didn't want to force his own sorrow upon them. He just wanted them to be _respectful_, to at least quiet down and listen and think about who Kimimaro was, why he died, and how it affected other people.

The introductions passed over his head and the first act was already on stage, playing a rock song as if they dared to call themselves a band. Sasuke was disgusted. How did such a song with the lyrics "I saw her standing there" match the death of a teenager? And what was worse was the cheering that came with it: the catcalls in between breaks, the whistles, the random exclamations of encouragement.

Those people weren't watching for Kimimaro, he thought. They weren't there for him. Most of them didn't even know who he was. The rest didn't care. They were there for a free period and maybe a little entertainment.

Sasuke thought that was the worst: to die and not be remembered. He was disgusted.

Repulsed.

His anger was uncontrollable to the point where his body began to shake violently.

How dare they?

How dare they not care?

He was not going to play for them. This was not a concert for Kimimaro. It was just another concert. Just another day.

He refused to play.

No.

_Sorry, Naruto, Kiba_, he thought as he slipped, unnoticed, between the crowd of people backstage. He was going to wallow in his anger. He was afraid that if he stuck around, someone would end up with a bloody nose and he would end up with another long round of detentions.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"You son of a . . .! You –!"

Someone grabbed his shoulder and jerked him around. Hands fisted his shirt. He was practically lifted from the floor. His eyes were closed, but he could feel harsh panting irritating his chin.

"You bailed on us! We looked like idiots out there waiting for you! What do you think you're – . . .?"

The words died on Kiba's lips suddenly in surprise. He blinked several times to make sure he was seeing reality before his eyes softened.

Sasuke had finally opened his eyes.

And they were rimmed red.

"What?" the Uchiha grunted rather bluntly, his voice low and hoarse.

"Were you . . . crying?"

Naruto came to stand beside Kiba, inspecting as well. He raised both of his eyebrows. "Is that why you weren't . . . Oh . . ."

Sasuke had been pacing aimlessly in the reception area of the auditorium, stopping for a few moments here and there to rest his forehead against the cool marble in thought as he desperately tried to contain his anger.

Two and two came together suddenly for Naruto. Sasuke jerked himself from Kiba's grasp and turned away. One shaking finger brushed his nose.

"Sasuke, hey, it's okay –"

"Don't." He didn't stop. "Just . . . whatever."

"Sasuke, you can't just –"

"Would you just _shut up?"_

Sasuke still did not turn around, but he stood still, his hands clenching into fists.

"This isn't just something you can get over in a day! It's not some shitty story where the author can just make the character get over it in a single paragraph! You can't just pretend he never existed! There are still memories!"

He jabbed at his temple with a shaking finger.

"And they're going to haunt me for the rest of my fucking life because he mattered that much. He wasn't some random kid off the street. He was Kimimaro Kaguya. He had people that looked up to him, and he had people who cared about him."

He began moving again, but his speech went on.

"You can believe he's falling up to Heaven, but you were always so optimistic in the first place. My optimism was taken away from me when I moved here, and everything went downhill from there."

And so Naruto and Kiba were left to stare after his fading shadow, all anger ebbing away gradually to be replaced with sympathy for the Uchiha that kept breaking down, his jagged pieces trailing behind him.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

_People die everyday. Thousands of people._

He _knew_ that. It didn't make him feel any better.

_Why is Kimimaro any different?_

Because people were always selfish when those closest to them died. He wanted to be left alone in his own selfishness.

He didn't think he was sad anymore. He felt . . . regretful. His silence was not one of sorrow, it was one of thoughtfulness. He simply kept thinking, and thinking, and thinking. He wasn't going to snap at anyone anymore.

Sasuke didn't think he wanted to face the Sound 5 yet, however. Tomorrow, when Kakashi would hand him the video of the concert, he would finally meet with them. He would tell them not to watch the video even if they could. He would tell them to fast forward it to Naruto and Kiba's performance because that was the only one that was actually intended for Kimimaro –

The abrupt opening of the door forced Sasuke to break from his thoughts. He jumped at the sudden sound and turned around to find his brother entering. Something seemed slightly off.

"Sasuke," Itachi said immediately, his voice steady, but Sasuke caught the edge of urgency in his voice. "Hey, Sasuke, listen."

He was acting strangely. Sasuke squinted, inspecting him.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked his brother. He wondered if it was some sort of aftereffect of cocaine.

"Listen. Listen, okay?"

Sasuke sunk back into the couch as Itachi advanced towards him. His brother's heavy hands descended upon his shoulders and squeezed.

"Itachi, what's going on? Did you do anything?"

He thought his brother took drugs again.

"What?" Itachi stopped for a second to think. "What – no! No, Sasuke, just listen, okay? Just . . . just listen."

He seemed to be confused. Something was clouding his thoughts. The glassy look in his eyes was beginning to unnerve his younger brother.

Sasuke froze.

Itachi's eyes were rimmed red.

"Itachi, what's going on?"

Sasuke was alert now. His mind was racing.

"Did someone do something to you? Were they the same guys that forced the cocaine on you?"

"Sasuke, just shut up for a second, okay?"

Sasuke silenced immediately. His eyes widened.

It wasn't everyday Itachi told him to shut up.

. . . Never, actually.

Itachi's hands squeezed his shoulders harshly, his red-rimmed eyes piercing. "Do you trust me?" he asked.

"What?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Itachi, are you okay –?"

Itachi shook him. Sasuke's hands gripped the cushions of the couch in surprise.

"Do you _trust_ me?"

"Yes, yes, I trust you!" exclaimed Sasuke at last. "I trust you! Itachi, what's going on?"

Itachi finally let go of his shoulders and visibly relaxed, running one hand through his hair. He took in a shuddering breath. "Do not hate me," he said, his eyes closed. "Please, do not hate me for what I do."

Sasuke was officially on the edge. He inched slowly away from his brother, his heartbeat still wild and erratic.

"Itachi, please, just tell me what's going on. You're really starting to scare me right now."

Itachi shook his head. "It's nothing, Sasuke. Just keep trusting me, okay?"

"Itachi –"

"Please, Sasuke, drop the subject."

Sasuke only grew more fearful at the broken look coming from Itachi's eyes. He flinched slightly when Itachi reached out, but he let his brother brush his hair back tenderly. Itachi sat down, his hand continuously stroking Sasuke's hair. It frightened Sasuke somewhat. Itachi was not tender. Itachi was not this affectionate. Something, something was wrong, wrong, wrong.

"Trust me when I say things will get better," he whispered.

Sasuke succumbed to the rare gentle comfort his brother gave. He leaned against him, relishing in the way Itachi's strokes reminded him of his mother's, yet wanting to wrench from the alien affection.

"How did your day go?"

"Normal," Sasuke whispered right back. He didn't want to speak.

He closed his eyes. He wanted to go to sleep then and there, leaning against his brother, taking pleasure – yet with a hint of fright at the strangeness – in the tender care he received. But there was something wrong, and Itachi wouldn't elaborate.

"It'll get better," Itachi kept whispering to him.

The whispered mantra only frightened Sasuke more.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke wasn't a fan of the night anymore.

Bad things happened at night.

The Boogeyman came out at night.

Itachi had nightmares at night.

Sasuke woke up with widened eyes and his heartbeat as wild as it had been upon Itachi's return. He had not woken up to silence. He had woken up to what sounded like Itachi wrestling with someone.

But there was no one to wrestle _with._

He swung himself off of his bed in panic, quickly fixing his prosthetic leg into place. His right leg, however, was still tangled in his sheets and so in his haste, he toppled over and landed harshly on his knees.

"Itachi!" he called, realizing what was wrong with his brother as he struggled with his sheets.

Itachi was having a nightmare.

_What the hell is wrong with him? Is it still the cocaine?!_

"Itachi!" he continued, trying to wake his brother up.

He finally freed his right leg, managed to fix his prosthetic leg on, and ran into his brother's room where Itachi was constantly rolling back and forth. The older Uchiha's eyes were squeezed together as if he was in pain; his moans and drawn eyebrows only supported the theory, as did the thick sheen of sweat over his body.

"Itachi, hey! Itachi, wake up!"

Sasuke remembered the technique Tsunade had told him the last time Itachi had been unable to wake up. He constantly repeated his brother's name, his voice rising with desperation each time.

At last, Itachi jerked awake, his eyes wide. Sasuke wasn't sure if it was sweat or tears coming in rivulets down his cheeks.

"Itachi, what's going on?!" the younger Uchiha screamed. "Tell me everything right now!"

"Sasuke, trust me –"

"Bullshit! You're having _nightmares_! What the _hell_ is going on?!"

"Sasuke, please, just go back to sleep."

Sasuke refused to leave. He was frustrated with everything. Everything. He wanted to curl into a ball and pull his hair and scream, scream, scream.

"I promise. Give me two weeks, Sasuke. Two weeks and –"

"Don't make promises," Sasuke suddenly interrupted, his voice low and ominous. "Mom made a promise, and now look where she is!"

Itachi silenced at this. He turned over, away from his brother, and leaned his head against the pillow once more.

"Please, Sasuke. Please, just go back to sleep."

"Itachi . . . come on . . . no, please . . ."

Sasuke's voice was breaking. He was sick of this. He was so sick of this. He had enough of the world for a lifetime.

Itachi noticed this. He turned back and outstretched his hand, but Sasuke shied away from it. Itachi managed to grasp his wrist anyway and with a strong tug, Sasuke toppled onto the bed right next to him.

"No more comforting," Sasuke spat. "No more secrets. No more 'trust me' bullshit, Itachi."

"I know what this is doing to you, Sasuke, but bear with it. Please, please, just focus on the marathon and ignore everything else in the world and I promise everything is going to be fine. I do not want you worrying over so many things."

"Then tell me everything and don't give me things to worry over!"

Itachi pinned Sasuke's body next to his with a single arm. "Do you want the cocaine story? Will that lessen the worry?"

"No, Itachi –"

"If I tell you the story, Sasuke, you must promise to go back to sleep."

Sasuke did not want to fight the battle in his mind. He succumbed. He felt so weak for succumbing to everything, but he was tired of putting up a front for everything. The beams of his walls were cracking, and he was crumbling.

He hated this.

He hated everything.

"Fine," he said with a heavy sigh. He felt his face heating up.

Why was he going through so much?  
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

**[1] There is nothing worse . . .:** I made the announcement of Kimimaro's death blunt for a reason. I really want to put some life themes in this story, and in reality, there are people that just aren't remembered.

My history teacher, Mr. Andy Dailey, once said that there is nothing worse than not being remembered.

-

. . . Now I'm going to go run . . . to Japan . . . and live with Masashi Kishimoto so we can hide from our fans together until they join forces with murderous intent and . . . yeah . . .


	27. How to Save a Life

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I wouldn't get a vaction.

**Author's Note:** Hello again!

Well, after that disastrous Egyptain vs. American soccer game (in which I didn't know which side to root for!), I'm in high spirits. Haha.

We are finally getting to the tournament! It's the next chapter! I think this is a pretty feel-good chapter overall, with little bits of angst in between. And I think this is the first time the chapter title makes the most sense!

Please, please give me your predictions about how the tournament will end, or what will happen. I don't care if you want to send me a private message if you don't want to review. I really want to know what you think.

Read with enlightenment. Thanks!

**Chapter 27  
**…**:::How to Save a Life:::…  
****The Fray**

**WARNING: Language. Minor mention of adult themes.**

********Itachi's Story.**

Uchiha Itachi was looking for a second job.

There had been a job offering making an appearance downtown at a bar. Itachi was confident he would be able to win the job due to his experience with such a business. And so, he set off late at night to the bar that was opened until three in the morning.

The woman that greeted him was the bartender. She smiled and waved her dirtied rag from where she stood behind the counter in her scanty clothing.

"You look like you need a nice, strong drink," she said as Itachi neared.

The bar was nearly empty. Jazz music played lowly from the overhead speakers. Two old men sat in the back in a pit of cigar smoke, laughing hoarsely. Itachi took a seat on the stool directly in front of the bartender.

"I need a job," he said monotonously.

He squinted when the bartender was preoccupied, finding a nametag: Kat.

"You got any experience?"

"A year's worth of bartending and cocktail shaking."

Kat lifted an unconvinced eyebrow. "What are the different types of shakers?"

"Boston, French, and Cobbler," Itachi replied almost immediately.

A smirk played with Kat's lips and she began firing questions rapidly.

"Vodka, tequila, gin, rum, triple sec, sour mix, and cola make what type of cocktail?"

"Long Island Iced Tea," Itachi replied without moving a single feature in his expression. He smirked, however. "And you forgot the lemon wedge for garnish."

Kat's smirk only grew.

"Vodka, horseradish, tomato juice, Worcestershire, Tabasco, a celery stalk, _and_ a lemon wedge for garnish make what?"

"Bloody Mary."

"Ooh, you're good." She finally seemed impressed, leaning on the counter so that her face was close to Itachi's. The man did not flinch. "The boss won't be here for another hour. Stick around. You're worth it."

Itachi nodded his head in reply.

"Can I get you anything to drink, Sweets?"

"A Shirley Temple," he replied. "_Non_-alcoholic, please."

"You wanna look good to impress the boss? A little alcohol won't hurt."

"Non-alcoholic, thank you."

Itachi did not want her to know that the only alcohol he had ever taken was a glass of champagne at one of his father's formal evening parties when he was nineteen.

The older Uchiha did not bother staring around the room. He did not think such petty images could take his mind away from the loss of his job and the confrontation of his little brother.

"Here ya go, Sweets."

His drink was placed in front of him, a cherry and orange slice complementing the scarlet complexion of the cocktail. Itachi reached out for it absentmindedly, his mind still on Sasuke.

"Hey, listen, there's a game of cards going on in the backroom," said Kat, her narrowed eyes watching Itachi's actions. "Why don't you go and join 'em instead of waiting over here for an hour? It'll take your mind off of things, and you look like you need a break."

Itachi stared at her for a few moments. "Would they mind an extra player?" he finally asked.

The idea of playing a game of cards sounded good to him. He was an excellent card player, he had a lot of extra time, and he needed something to keep him awake for the next hour lest he doze off and miss his meeting with the boss.

"Heck, they _ask_ for new people to come in! They've been playing with the same six guys for days now! Just take your drink and follow me."

She ducked beneath the counter entrance and appeared on the other side. Itachi found her skirt to be as revealing as her shirt. He amused himself by wondering why she had even bothered to wear clothes.

The Shirley Temple tasted rather good this time around.

Itachi followed Kat through the door to a smallish, square room. Six men – four middle-aged and two muscled men in their thirties – sat around a large poker table, some with cigarettes in their mouths, others with pipes and cigars. They looked up simultaneously at the appearance of Kat.

"I brought you guys a new one," announced Kat. "He knows his stuff. He wants an interview with the boss."

"Well, then, grab a chair!" one of the middle-aged men called with a toothy grin.

"You any good at blackjack, kid?" another asked as Itachi set his drink down and sat.

"I have had my fair share of play."

"Cigarette?"

"No, thank you."

Itachi watched as he was dealt a share of cards from who he assumed to be the dealer. He took a few more sips of his Shirley Temple, licking his lips subtly from the sweet savor.

"Okay, men, place your bets."

"Bets?"

The word of confusion escaped Itachi's lips accidentally. He looked around to find the men placing money on the center of the table. One of them laughed.

"You didn't think we'd be playing blackjack for candy, did you?"

Itachi had to think quickly; the game was about to start. He contemplated whether or not he should place money in the center. He had no doubts in his skills, but he had no knowledge in the skills of the other men. Twenty dollars was all he had in his pocket, and he would still have to pay for the Shirley Temple.

But if he won . . .

. . . That would be a _lot_ of money.

"Come on, man."

Itachi had decided. He would place small bets. He would keep five dollars out of the way for his drink, and if things got too out of hand, and he found himself losing too much money, he would quit. Simple.

"Let's get this game going."

In half an hour, Itachi had two hundred dollars and was still going.

The men were getting fed up at the winnings of the newcomer. They threw down their cards for the umpteenth time as Itachi coolly and indifferently reached out to take their money.

"Something's wrong here," one of the middle-aged men finally said. "You countin' cards, kid?"

"I assure you I am not."

"You're having awfully good luck over here."

"I am simply trying to pass the time."

One of the younger men stood up angrily. "I was supposed to buy my girlfriend something sweet with my money."

Itachi only moved his eyes to stare at the man in silence, his mouth set into a straight line and his expression unwavering. The other young man stood.

"Are you cheating?"

Another man stood. And another. Itachi simply sat. They were advancing on him, but for some reason, his body would not respond. His motions were slowed; his thoughts were hazy and muddled. He tried desperately to shake off the weak stupor, but to no avail. Something was wrong.

_Damn it!_ he thought, suddenly coming to a conclusion:

The bartender had spiked his drink.

And he had taken the bait.

"You're going to give back that money."

"Gentlemen, this is uncalled for," replied Itachi monotonously, keeping his cool despite his incoherent thoughts making his head spin.

"You cheater. You're going to get your money's worth."

His hair was suddenly jerked from behind. Surprised, Itachi had no time to react before he was launched from his chair and to the floor. He cursed. He should have sensed the men behind him, but long ago had his senses deteriorated. His only remaining judgment – the sense of touch – told him that there was searing pain coming from the roots of his hair.

"Honestly, with six against one, you suspect _me_ to be the cheater?" he could not help but say as one man pulled fiercely at his ponytail.

"Winning two hundred bucks in half an hour? Not possible unless you're cheating."

Itachi did not expect the punch he received to the side of his cheek to hurt so much. He could not remember the last time he had been punched. He staggered to his feet, his eyes blurring, unfocused.

"I won that money fairly," he said, flexing his jaw. "I am not leaving here without it, men."

He was quick to dodge the next punch aimed for his nose, but his flying hair was caught and yanked and he stumbled to the ground. The youngest man straddled his hips.

"He's not going to leave consciously," he said as he grabbed Itachi by the neck. "And he's not going to fall unconscious if we try to beat him up like this."

"So we'll use another way."

Itachi, still pinned to the ground and struggling to break free, was suddenly relieved of the man straddling his hips. The man, however, still held on to his neck and pulled him up.

"I'll give you one last chance. Do you want to walk away, or should we use force?"

Uchiha Itachi was a very angry man at that very moment.

"Try me."

His chest was swiftly slammed into the poker table and he was forced to bend over. One man grabbed his hair fiercely by the ponytail to force his head back as another emptied something onto the table.

"Three packets, Iwao. We want him out cold."

At last, Itachi's head was forced back to face the table. His eyes caught what had been emptied: a white powder was piled high, tiny particles of it scattering with every sharp breath from his mouth.

Cocaine.

"He'll definitely pass out with this." A laugh. "Hey, Remi, remember that one time you thought that powdered milk was coke, so you –"

"Shut the hell up, you idiot!"

A calloused, sweaty hand clamped itself over Itachi's mouth. The Uchiha struggled wildly as his breath was cut off. He tried desperately to take in a breath from his mouth. Futile. He was forced to breathe from his nose.

Thinking quickly, however, he decided to take in small, easy breaths from his nostrils, being careful not to inhale any of the powder directly beneath him.

One of the men laughed. "Oh, he's a smart one."

But that man knew all the tricks.

He pinched Itachi's nose, effectively cutting off his entire oxygen supply.

_Whatever you do, breathe slowly when they release your nose,_ Itachi repeated in his head. _Breathe slowly. Breathe slowly. Breathe slowly._

But his lungs screamed for air. Finally, when the man released his nose, his body took its first instinctive breath.

And he snorted the cocaine right in.

It felt like an explosion had gone off in his brain. He felt his nose flare up as if it had been burned and blood began to flow sickly from his nostrils, leaking into his open mouth as he coughed violently. He collapsed against the poker table and would have fallen to the floor had another man not grabbed him by the hair yet again and hauled him up.

The procedure was repeated. Itachi's coughing was cut short with another hand over his mouth, and his bleeding nose was stemmed with a thumb and index finger. He was held over the pile of cocaine yet again.

This time, his inhale was stronger.

And the pile of cocaine decreased from the table.

"Wait for it," he could hear, listening to the men laugh. "That money's gonna be ours."

Itachi desperately tried to stay conscious, but his mind was searing from the numbing pain of euphoria. He collapsed at last against the poker table, slid down until he fell to the floor, and was swallowed in darkness.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke stared at his brother in horror.

"I found out later that it was a set up," Itachi concluded his story. "That bartender always spikes a newcomer's drink and sends them to play cards so that when the men fight, the newcomer is unable to fight back, and they take his money."

Sasuke still stared in horror.

His interrogation of Itachi finally made sense:

_"So you were the one that drank willingly?"_

_"No, I wasn't."_

_"Does cutting your hair have anything to do with the incident at the bar?"_

_"Yes, it does."_

_"Is there something more to the story than Tsunade let on?"_

_". . . Yes. There is."_

He remembered when his brother first walked through the door with his new haircut, calling his longer hair a nuisance.

"You cut your hair because that was how they forced you down."

Yes, yes, it made sense. It all made sense.

"You promised to go to sleep, Sasuke," Itachi said tiredly. "You know the story now. Go to sleep."

Sasuke debated with himself for a while, but decided that Itachi had had enough of annoyances for a while. He slowly crawled from the bed.

"Sorry," he whispered to his brother.

"For what?"

"A lot of things."

He was sorry for not understanding and accepting his brother's actions in the first place.

He was sorry for overreacting.

He was sorry for being bothersome.

But he could not forget the nightmare Itachi had, nor could he forget the way his brother had acted hours ago. There was no way he could forgive his brother and his maddening secrecy.

Sasuke looked to his clock when he entered his own room. It was nearing one o'clock.

Kakashi would definitely be awake.

When he could finally hear the evenness of his brother's shuddering breaths, he used Itachi's cell phone to send Kakashi a text message, warning him of a late night visit and asking him not to reply. Then, slipping into pajama pants and a shirt, he left the house with the click of the door.

Konoha was always oddly silent at night. There were no signs of life where Sasuke lived. Even Kakashi's neighborhood seemed to be shrouded in a thick veil of darkness and silence as he walked through, the dim lights of the street lamps illuminating his disheveled figure every two meters.

Kakashi was waiting for him on his front lawn in a plastic lawn chair with a tray of tea on the table in front of him. He looked up upon hearing the swing of his fence gate.

"You caught me at a good time," he said, pulling another lawn chair out for Sasuke. "A second later, and I would've been in bed."

Sasuke gratefully took the chair and sat. The cool night breeze chilled him to the bone, but it relaxed him greatly. It brought the steam of the tea with its chilling current.

"Sorry," he said.

He seemed to be apologizing a lot lately.

Kakashi waved his hand dismissively. "I'd rather you talk to me now than go out and do something stupid. Everything's much more exciting at night, anyway. I thought it'd be better to be out in the fresh air tonight, but we could go inside if you're cold."

Sasuke shook his head and leaned against the table. "A lot of things are going on," he said with weariness descending upon his weakened frame.

"How about we start with the reason you decided to come to my house at this time of the night."

Kakashi put a cup of tea in front of Sasuke and waited for him to begin talking. He looked casually around his yard, squinting at a lawn gnome for a few moments as the silence ensued.

Finally, Sasuke lifted his head from the table to tell the entirety of his story. He explained the strangeness of his brother, the nightmare, and the story revelation. He went on to explain the Kimimaro-related story, about how he had skipped out on the concert, and what he had been doing when he did.

"About Itachi," Kakashi said quietly after a while, a cup of tea nestled between his hands for warmth, "just know this: he made a major decision. I didn't think it was the best decision, and we talked for quite a while over it, but he made the decision for a good reason."

"Wait, _you_ know why he's acting like that?"

Kakashi hesitated slightly, trying to imagine the outcome of the question. "Yes, I do, but no, I can't tell you."

Sasuke figured just as much.

"Is there something wrong? Is he doing anything bad?"

Kakashi shook his head. It eased Sasuke's heart immensely. He let out a powerful sigh and leaned against the table once more, pushing the cup of tea to his cheek to feel its heat.

"I suspect he'll be having nightmares for a couple of weeks, but please don't worry over them. He's not in danger of anything. He's just having a really hard time coping."

Sasuke decided he would trust Kakashi.

"I'm going to worry about him anyway," he said with a lighter tone, the ghost of a smirk crossing his face.

A passing breeze ruffled Sasuke's clothes and he wrapped his arms around his slender frame. Kakashi noticed the unusual thinness of the Uchiha's once-lean arms.

"Have you lost weight?"

Sasuke did not even pull his arms back. He nodded slowly.

"I know it's really bad for the marathon, but we've been low on money, so we've been low on food."

Kakashi stood up to walk to Sasuke's side. He knelt down beside his student and gently reached to take one of Sasuke's arms off of the table. His single eye inspected the prominent bone of his wrist.

"That's a lot of weight loss."

"Stress factors and whatnot," Sasuke supplied. "My weight's a yo-yo, and I suck at yo-yoing. Ask Itachi. He's seen me try."

Kakashi smirked at the attempted joke and continued to give his own makeshift medical examination. "How's that bruise of yours coming along?"

The older man leaned over to reach for the hem of Sasuke's shirt, pulling it up slightly and waiting for Sasuke to protest. When the Uchiha did no such thing, he continued to lift it until he had revealed the nearly-faded bruise on the boy's side.

"Does this hurt?" he asked as he gently prodded the injury.

Sasuke shook his head.

Satisfied, Kakashi pulled back. "You know, we're exactly a week away from the tournament," he whispered. "And that means that you only have four days left of intense training."

"Four days?!"

"Time has flown, hasn't it?" Kakashi said with a nod of his head. "But you'll be able to test your skills on the track tomorrow since your detentions are officially over, and I'll stop by every night."

"I have to win this thing."

Kakashi watched his grown student with a careful eye, watched him rub the sleep from his eyes, rub the dark teenage stubble growing on his chin, and rub his arms against the cold. He stood up and began to place the empty tea cups on the tray.

"You should get some sleep," he said softly. "I've still got some of your clothes in my house if you'd like to sleep over, or I can drive you home."

"I'll walk, thanks. I just need to think things over," replied Sasuke.

"Wait here for a moment."

Kakashi quickly jogged into his house and came out with a sweatshirt in hand. He tossed it to the Uchiha.

"Get home safely," he said as he watched Sasuke pull the oversized sweatshirt over his head with ease.

"Thanks."

Sasuke jogged home.

_Four days?!_

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"How're you feeling today?"

Naruto leaned against Sasuke's bedroom door as the brunette dressed for school. He had come early in the morning once again to walk with the Uchiha to school.

"Accepting?" Sasuke replied as he slid his pants on. "I don't know. What am I supposed to say?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly. "I don't know either. I can't describe the feeling I get whenever something like that happens to me."

With a shirt finally over his head, Sasuke shot a questioning glance to the blond. "Exactly how many times have you lost someone?" he asked.

"A few."

Naruto didn't elaborate on the matter, and Sasuke wasn't about to pry the information out of him. The blond followed the brunette out of the room and into the kitchen where Sasuke quickly put some toaster waffles into the toaster.

"I'm meeting the Sound 5 today," Sasuke said in order to change the awkward subject.

"Are you _ready_ to meet them?"

"What do you mean?"

Naruto wiped his finger across the bar of the kitchen, struggling with the words. "I mean, can you handle talking to them? You won't have a breakdown or anything, will you?"

Rather than growing angry at the words of the blond, Sasuke's expression softened and he smiled slightly.

"Thanks for worrying, but I don't think I'm going to have a breakdown any time soon." He grabbed the toaster waffles from the toaster and put them on a plate. "It's just really sad, you know? And for the Sound 5, it's like losing a brother, so it has to hurt for them. I just want to see how they're doing."

Naruto grinned softly. "You're a good person on the inside, Sasuke."

"Of course." Sasuke rolled his eyes. "That's why I beat up a kid, got drunk, and had a million and one people angry at me."

"I said you were a good person. I didn't say you made the right decisions all the time."

Sasuke managed to put both of his waffles in his mouth as he left the kitchen and slid his shoes on. It was still too early for school, and Sasuke liked it that way.

"Do you mind if we pass through the marketplace on the way?" he asked when they were outside.

Naruto did not mind. He and Sasuke walked in a comfortable silence, the Uchiha deep, deep in thought. He tried to suppress the dark thoughts from his mind, but he knew they would be haunting him for days.

"Ino's flower shop?"

Naruto found that Sasuke had stopped beneath the floral sign of _Yamanaka Florist_. The Uchiha placed his fingers against the glass of the door, feeling the coolness of the window as he pushed it open, and hearing the soft chime of the bells above.

"I didn't know this was Ino's shop," he said with a hint of amusement. "I pass it every time I come through the marketplace."

Garland upon garland hung over their heads in a variety of colors, small and large, vibrant and subtle. Flowers were sorted by every color of the rainbow. Sasuke walked through one of the aisles, ducking beneath a low-hanging wreath, and found the front desk.

"Naruto!"

The exclamation came from behind Sasuke. The brunette turned around to see a man (_Definitely Ino's dad_, thought Sasuke, taking in the lengthy blond hair) clap his large hand onto Naruto's shoulder.

"I haven't seen you around my shop for ages!"

His sapphire eyes swept over Sasuke's figure briefly.

"And Uchiha Sasuke." He held out his hand. "Yamanaka Inoichi. To what do I owe the pleasure?"

Sasuke took the hand out of sheer mannerism.

"Sasuke brought me here. I was wondering what he wanted, too," supplied Naruto.

"Flowers."

_Obviously._

"For someone who has recently passed away."

Inoichi silenced the very moment he said that. Sasuke wished he hadn't. It only made coping feel so much worse.

"Lilies are the traditional flower," the man finally said after a while, leading Sasuke to the aisle for the white flowers. But Sasuke shook his head.

"Green flowers," he said.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Green flowers? Do those even exist?"

"Why don't we just check the green aisle?" Inoichi said with a slight smirk, outstretching his arm to show them the aisle he mentioned.

"Why green?"

An image of Kimimaro flashed through Sasuke's mind.

"His eyes."

He searched the rows of flowers for one that would match Kimimaro's eyes perfectly, but none did any justice. None had the exact tone, the exact hue, the exact feel. He finally pointed to the one he thought held the closest resemblance.

"This one."

"A Jade Dendrobium," Inoichi announced. "A beautiful choice. How many would you like?"

"Five."

"Five? Don't you want a bouquet with some wrapping –?"

"Five. Please."

Naruto smiled. "Don't question Sasuke, sir," he told Inoichi. "He always has a reason for everything."

Uchiha Sasuke left the florist with two emerald flowers wrapped in metallic paper.

The school bell was unheard in his mind when they reached the building. He walked through the halls, the flowers now resting in his locker in a plastic cup filled with water, his mind on the Sound 5 and their reactions. His greeting to Kiba in English was half-hearted, but the boy did not mind.

"Did you guys see Neji?" the dog-lover asked to stir up conversation. When Naruto shook his head, he continued. "Mr. Flawless is on crutches."

This seemed to be something unusual, Sasuke thought, because Naruto practically jumped from his seat, his eyes bulging from their sockets.

"He's on _what?!"_

"I know," said Kiba, grimacing. "I tried talking to him, but he ducked into a hallway and I lost him. You think it's happening again?"

"Hell yeah!"

"What's happening?" Sasuke finally spoke, curious. He watched Kiba and Naruto exchange glances.

"Confidential information," Kiba said at last. "I'd tell you, but then I'd have to kill you."

Sasuke suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, but his mind was swept away once again into thought after thought. He realized he wasn't the only one facing problems. He realized that even if his own world was falling and crashing and burning, reality still moved on. In reality, there was always someone across the room with a world just like his. There was always someone – _anyone_, however flawless they seemed – with something hidden.

The Sound 5 had been victimized as a group.

And now Neji had been an injured target.

"We'll see how he's doing in P.E.," Naruto said, his mood crushed.

P.E. was next period.

Neji was clearly in no mood to speak. His silent, indifferent demeanor was more silent and indifferent than usual. His aura simply screamed _approach me and die._

"Please talk to Neji."

Sakura had said that to Naruto right before he entered the locker room. Her emerald eyes were overflowing with worry; Sasuke was briefly reminded of the flowers sitting, lonely, in his locker.

And so Naruto tried the best he could to approach the Hyuuga without setting off the ticking bomb inside of him.

"Neji –"

"What?"

It was practically a growl. Lee placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder to guide him away.

"Neji's youth is dimmed on this bright morning, Naruto," he whispered, a frown marring his sunny visage. "It is best to wait until his sun comes up."

Sasuke sat and watched Neji. His eyes looked over the white cast that engulfed the entirety of his right foot before they trailed upwards to concentrate on the boy's face. Neji was struggling to tie his hair back.

"Your staring pesters me, Uchiha," Neji growled at him through clenched teeth without turning to face him.

"Your anger pesters me, Hyuuga," Sasuke replied smoothly. He crossed his legs casually.

"Shut up."

Sasuke's mood for comebacks was diminished when he realized Neji's anger was not one to be pushed. He stood up and leaned against a locker, facing the Hyuuga with his arms crossed.

"Your sudden anger is affecting everyone else," he said. "If you won't tell anyone about why you're angry, keep it inside of you and stop letting it out on everyone else."

"I don't need your advice, Uchiha."

He turned his back and hobbled from the room.

Shop class did not do any justice to take Sasuke's mind off of the Hyuuga mystery. TenTen was in there, looking so down and saddened that Sasuke had to speak to her. Kankuro got to her first.

"Whoa, where's that pretty little TenTen smile?" the man asked her, lifting her chin. "Trouble with Mrs. Izumi at the orphanage?"

TenTen shook her head. "Trouble with Neji."

"Ah, trouble in paradise," Kankuro concluded, sitting up on his desk. "He's pretty angry lately, isn't he?"

"I tried speaking with him."

Two pairs of eyes turned to face the Uchiha with interest. Sasuke sat down nonchalantly and set his backpack to the side.

"He walked away from me."

"That boy is im_poss_ible," TenTen said with a huff. "When he finally gets feelings, he won't let them out. He's so . . . so . . ."

She could not get the right words out. In her frustration, she sat in her seat and put her head in her hands, sighing heavily. She was distressed. Sasuke did not like seeing her in such a state.

Kankuro grimaced. "Angry TenTen equals not good. Look, I'll speak to him."

"I'll speak to him." Sasuke exchanged glances with Kankuro, nodding firmly. "I have an offer for him."

Sasuke proposed his offer last period when he found Neji sitting alone in Arabic. He sat down in the seat next to the boy, pulled out his books, and acted as if nothing was out of the usual. Neji did not seem to notice him.

Finally, Sasuke leaned to the side.

"You know," he whispered, "TenTen is really upset with you."

He received silence.

Typical.

"I have someone you might want to see. He can help you, I'm sure."

He knew Neji was listening.

"You might know him. His name is Hatake Kakashi."

Neji finally turned to look at him, confusion written on his face. "Mr. Hatake?"

"Finally, a word."

"Do not joke with me at this time, Uchiha. What can that man do for me?"

"He's good at listening. And understanding. It'll do well for you."

Sasuke settled back into his original position, content. He had given his offer. All he had to do was wait and find out if Neji would take it up.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

This was it.

He was standing at the foot of their apartment, the wrapping of the flowers sweating in his hands. A part of his mind told him that the Sound 5 wouldn't be there. They packed up and left. They couldn't take it.

But there was a single light on.

So Sasuke's sensible side moved his legs forward, moved his hand to knock on the door, moved his body back, and waited.

"Who is it?"

It was Sakon's – Ukon's? – voice.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Silence.

"What do you want?"

"A visit."

The door opened after much pausing to reveal Sakon, his hair unkempt and his torso in need of a shirt. A can was crushed in his hands. Upon closer inspection, Sasuke found it to be beer.

"Where is everyone?" he asked as Sakon led him to the couch in the living room.

"Kidomaru's at work. Jirobo's in bed. Tayuya's wherever the fuck in this house."

Noticing Sakon's unsteady stance, Sasuke put down the flowers and grabbed hold of the boy's shoulders, guiding him to the couch.

"You should really sit down and stop drinking."

"I'm not drinking."

"Drinking beer is drinking. Is this all you've been doing?"

"No."

Sasuke looked around to find a pile of beer cans stacked in a corner.

_Yes._

He left Sakon in favor of searching the rest of the house for any signs of life. The first door he was met with was locked. He knocked.

"Tayuya?" he asked. "Jirobo?"

_"Fuck,"_ came the voice from within.

Tayuya.

"Tayuya, can I come in? It's Sasuke. Come on."

Surprisingly, the door opened immediately to reveal the weary-worn girl. She stood in the frame, traces of mascara blotched over her cheeks, but her eyes were narrowed and angry.

"What?" she asked bluntly, one hand on her hip. "Who the fuck let you in?"

"A very drunken Sakon. I just came to visit."

"You're unwanted."

"Tayuya, come on." Sasuke forced himself into the room, pushing Tayuya with him all the way to the back so that she sat on the bed. "Pull yourself together. When's the last time you left this house?"

"Go away."

"No. Look." He outstretched his hands to reveal the wrapped flowers and knew he had to get to the point quickly while Tayuya was still listening. "These are for Kimimaro. Wherever he is now, Tayuya, he's doing just fine. I cried over him, too. I thought it was unfair, too." He paused, placing the flowers on a nearby table. "But a good friend of mine told me he was an angel that was just falling up to Heaven."

"Cut the bullshit, fucker, and get out of my _face_!"

Tayuya tried to push him away, but he pushed back.

_What the hell am I doing playing therapist?_

"And I didn't want to think about it that way," Sasuke continued, struggling to keep Tayuya down. "Because I knew that no matter what, it would hurt. I knew that no matter what happens, it still hurts that he's gone, but no pain can last forever, Tayuya. You've got to let it go. Staying here and doing this to yourself won't bring him back. What would he say if he saw you like this now?"

"It's so fucking _hard_, you asshole! He was always there for us! Always watching over us even though we were the older ones! And now he's _gone!_"

Her expression was softening. Her eyes were watering.

"I can't take this."

And suddenly, Sasuke was on top of her.

She had pulled him down by the front of his shirt and crushed her lips against his, keeping him in place with a hand on the back of his head. He could feel the prominence of her stomach as she ground against him.

"Ta-yu-ya," he tried to say, desperately trying to pull his lips away.

"I need this right now, Uchiha."

She was fumbling for his shirt, but his hands prevented her from going any further. He finally managed to break free and so he sat, straddling her legs, panting heavily from the rigorous struggle.

Tayuya's eyes were officially watering by now. She pushed the Uchiha fiercely from her legs and sat up.

"Let me have this, fuck!" she screamed at him, tears leaking from her amber orbs. "Just let me have something for once!"

"Sex is the last thing you need, damn it!" Sasuke yelled right back. "What you need is to get out of this house and start living your life the way Kimimaro would've wanted you to!"

"You don't understand –!"

"And maybe I don't."

Sasuke lowered his voice to a menacing, even tone.

"Maybe I haven't had my brother die. I don't have to have someone die to understand what's it's like. My mother was taken away from me. My father committed suicide." He grabbed hold of the front of her shirt. "I know what it's like to feel pain, Tayuya. You can't let it consume your life. None of you can go on like this!"

"What do you care, huh?! No one cares about the Sound 5 but ourselves! Let us wallow in our own fucking misery!"

"_I_ care." He released the front of her shirt and slid off of the bed, still facing her, his eyes ablaze. "And as long as I care, I'm going to make sure you don't waste your lives away. It hurts. I know it does. And there will always be a part of you that hurts. But after three days of mourning, you've got to start realizing that it's not going to do anything. What happened, happened. You can't do anything about it."

"I can cry for him," Tayuya told him, her eyebrows rising in sorrow. "I can shed his tears! He's seventeen and he's dead, Uchiha! He's crying right now!"

"Even Kimimaro realizes that crying will get you nowhere. This is what you can do."

He picked up the flowers for what seemed to be the umpteenth time and placed them tenderly in Tayuya's lap.

"You can make his grave look amazing. He'll love that. And you can get out of this house everyday to go and talk to him, and tell him how much you miss him." He smirked. "He'll enjoy that. I promise you."

"Like fuck I'm talking to a fucking stone."

"You won't be talking to a stone. You'll be talking to him. Because he's in Heaven and waiting for you."

He didn't care if he sounded like a corny idiot. He didn't care if the words flowing from his mouth were clichés. He really didn't. Because they worked. Those words silenced Tayuya. Those words lifted her from the bed. Those words helped her take her first steps out of her room, into the living room, the flowers in her shaking hands.

"One of them is from me," said Sasuke, pointing to one of the emerald flowers. "The others, you can say are from the rest of the Sound 5."

"I can't forget about him, Uchiha," Tayuya whispered brokenly.

"I'm not asking you to forget about him. I'm asking you to stop acting like he's coming back." He pushed her to the door. "Pretend his gravestone is just his bed. You're going to go tuck him in. You're going to go tell him a story, and then you're going to say goodnight and leave, only to come back the next day."

Tayuya rubbed the bridge of her nose. "This is fucking insane. This is impossible. This is –"

Sasuke put a hand over her mouth to silence her.

"Just shut up and talk to him."

"Why are you doing this?"

It was a whispered question, one without menace or curses, just curiosity. Sasuke stared at Tayuya in equal questioning.

"I don't know," he said at last. "Kimimaro wasn't just an acquaintance for me, and it really hurt when he left. But if it really hurt for me, then it must've felt like torture for you guys. I know what it's like to feel that way, and it feels so much better if there's someone to help you along the lines. That's what I'm here for."

"You're a fucker, you know that?" Tayuya said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. She pulled Sasuke down for another kiss.

"I really wish you'd stop doing that," he said when he pulled away, wiping his mouth.

Tayuya smirked at last. "That's just a goodbye. And a thanks."

"What ever happened to just shaking hands?"

Sasuke smirked anyway.

"Do you want to come with me? To talk to him, or whatever the fuck you said."

"No, I'll come later," said Sasuke as he shook his head. "Take Jirobo and Sakon with you. Knock some sense into them."

"Jirobo's with Kidomaru right now and Sakon's too drunk to drag around."

_Figures. He told me Jirobo was in bed._

"Kimimaro's always there when you need to talk," Sasuke concluded, beginning to walk away. "He's a great listener."

"Fucker," Tayuya repeated. "You know, he really liked you, Uchiha."

"I'll see you around, Tayuya."

_I know he liked me_, he whispered in his head, his smirk disappearing. _That's what made it hurt so much._

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Kakashi came around eight, a curious expression on his face. Sasuke was sitting peacefully on his couch with a cup of tea in his hand, staring at the window.

"I had an interesting after school session with someone who I least expected," Kakashi said to the resting Uchiha. "And he said you recommended he come."

"Neji, right?" said Sasuke from the couch. He felt oddly calm. "He actually took my offer? I was expecting him to be too proud to go."

"He sat and spoke much like you do. One heck of an angry kid, I'll tell you that."

"What did he say?"

Kakashi wagged his finger. "You know that's confidential information. "

"Fine."

The older man raised his visible eyebrow and walked over to the couch, standing over Sasuke with one hand on his hips. "You usually argue further. Are you feeling okay? Did you get laid today?"

"Close," Sasuke said, closing his eyes and letting out a small laugh that surprised his mentor. "I met the Sound 5 and everything went well. I even got Tayuya to leave the house."

"Oh really? Are my psychiatry powers rubbing off on you? I've got them patented, you know."

"Funny. Let's just get to training so I can win this marathon and finish the rest of my puzzle piece."

Kakashi did not ask him to elaborate further. He set right to work taking out the training equipment, but the smile on his face would not leave. He felt a sense of pride that had not bubbled within him for a long, long time.

"That was a good thing you did, telling Neji to come to me. And helping out the Sound 5."

Sasuke shrugged. "I'm full of good things right now."

Itachi returned in the midst of Sasuke's training. His eyes were back to their hollowed state and his hair was askew, but his mood seemed to be high. He greeted both Sasuke and Kakashi with a nod of his head.

"You two certainly seem to be in high spirits," he said as he moved to the refrigerator for a bottle of water.

"The same can be said for you. Did _you_ get laid?" asked Kakashi.

"What the heck is with you asking if we got laid?" Sasuke said as Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"I was talking to Genma before I left and he told me some details I didn't really need to hear, but he seemed pretty ecstatic."

Sasuke groaned and clamped his hands over his ears. "I don't want to know about my coach's sex life, Hatake."

"I would have to agree with my little brother on that one."

Sasuke had high hopes for that night. Everything that day had gone well. Itachi was acting normally, feeling happier than he had in a while. So he shouldn't have any nightmares that night, right?

Wrong.

Sasuke woke for a second round of twists and turns from his older brother. He raced into Itachi's room at three in the morning to find him on the floor in a tangle of sheets and still in a deep sleep.

"Not again. Itachi!" he called out to his brother. Itachi awoke almost immediately, his bloodshot eyes snapping open. Confusion clouded his obsidian orbs for a few moments before he finally realized he was on the floor.

"Oh."

_Oh? Oh?! That's all?!_

"Tell me the truth," Sasuke said as he straddled his brother's torso. Obsidian locked with obsidian. "Is everything alright?"

Itachi seemed relieved.

"Everything is just fine, Sasuke."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Six days until the tournament.

Three more days of practice.

Sasuke felt . . . unconfident.

He tried to will away the self-doubting thoughts on the marathon as he went through his routine the next day. Naruto was there in the morning; it had become a tradition now. The boisterous boy showed his dazzling smile to the Uchiha.

"You're amazing," he said.

Sasuke stopped chewing his toaster waffle in confusion.

"You really are absolutely amazing. You need an award or something."

"You need one for Creepiest Visitor. What are you talking about?"

Naruto took a seat, his smile permanently in place. Sasuke felt at ease. The blonde's presence was like a source of warmth.

"Hinata called me last night. She said Neji came in without a single hint of anger. And better yet, he snuck out of the house at night!"

". . . Why are you so happy that he snuck out of the house?"

"Because that means he went to see TenTen! All order is restored in the world!"

Sasuke grimaced.

Not all.

Neji was back at school, his silent demeanor back to its usual level of silence. He even greeted the Uchiha in private.

"Your advice has been appreciated," he said.

"Your change has been appreciated," Sasuke replied with a smirk.

Neji smirked to match his. "Do me a favor and win that tournament for me, Uchiha," he said. "Kiba and I shall be watching from the stands."

"I can't make any promises, Hyuuga."

He really couldn't.

What surprised Sasuke the most that day was Tayuya's presence. She was the only one from the Sound 5 present in the room, but she managed to pull Sasuke through the door with her own strength.

"I talked to him," she said without having to be questioned. "Kidomaru, Sakon, and Jirobo are over there right now. It really helps."

"Glad to be of service."

"Come on over again and I'll buy you a drink."

Sasuke grimaced. "I'm on an alcohol-free diet for the next fifty years."

Tayuya smirked and sat down. Sasuke felt good to know he could sit in the same room with the notorious girl and be assured that she wasn't about to launch herself at him with murderous intent.

"Keep yourself around, Uchiha. You're a kid I wouldn't want to lose."

Sasuke felt on top of the world.

But every night, he was reminded that he was nothing more than a helpless human when he saw his brother struggle with his own mind in his nightmares.

Five days until the tournament. They soon turned to four. To three. Workout after workout, exercise after exercise, Sasuke put his body through every test to make sure he would be ready, to make sure his confidence rose. He was determined to win.

For Kimimaro.

For Neji.

For Tayuya.

For his mother.

With two days before the tournament, tension and excitement were mounting high amongst everyone Sasuke knew. Itachi's nightmares were worsening. Kakashi, Naruto, and Kisame were coming over more frequently; Kisame had even slept over the Uchiha household at one point when Sasuke was afraid Itachi would suffocate himself with his blankets in his sleep.

Now Sasuke was over Naruto's house with the rest of their friends, gathered around video games, chips, and pretzels. They were discussing the tournament.

"Gaara's definitely going to be in this one," said TenTen. "I had a chat with Kankuro."

"And he's been training for a while. I spoke with Temari," added Shikamaru, lazily popping a cheese ball into his mouth from where he sat, upside down, on a beanbag chair.

"We've got to beat him this time," said Kiba. "He's been on a winning streak for too long." He grinned. "But now that I'm out of the game, you guys have no chance of beating him."

A dozen and one pillows were suddenly aimed at his head and he rolled backwards, over the video game console, managing to disconnect all of its wires.

"We didn't save!"

"I was winning!"

"Kiba!"

"Inuzuka!"

"Shit."

Kiba scrambled to his feet, but to no avail. Naruto tackled him to the ground, laughing all the way. Kiba was suddenly unseen beneath a dogpile of teenagers that joined in, each of them laughing and having fun without a care in the world.

Sasuke smiled, too. Out of spite. His pessimistic thoughts got the best of him.

This happiness wouldn't last.


	28. Ready Set Go!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Naruto. Kishimoto does.

**Author's Note:** The moment you've all been waiting for in a not-so-grealty-written chapter.

I don't feel this is a well-written chapter. I think it fell flat, but you guys can be the judge of that.

Enjoy the climax.

Writing is a good escape, isn't it?

**Chapter 28  
**…**:::Ready Steady Go!:::…  
****L'Arc~en~Ciel**

**WARNING: Language. And a very Happy Birthday to UchihaMachi!**

"Click it! Click it! Click it! Click it!"

"Release! Release! Release! Release!"

"No, no, the other way!"

A loud explosion suddenly resounded in the room. Every occupant of the area stared at the glowing television screen in defeat.

Game Over.

"Man, Ino . . . you totally blew it."

A powerful fist suddenly came down upon the head of an unsuspecting Inuzuka. Ino, the dealer, huffed in frustration and threw her game controller to the floor.

"That was such a hard game! It's not my fault I lost!" she exclaimed as she crossed her hands over her chest.

"Ino . . . it was just Tetris," said TenTen.

Ino scrunched her face. "It sounds like a disease."

Sasuke smiled to himself as he gathered his knees to his chest, watching. He watched in silence as one by one, the teenagers rose from their seats on the floor and disappeared from Naruto's game room, leaving their controllers and goodbyes behind.

"One more day," Sakura, the last remaining person in the room, whispered to Naruto and Sasuke before she left.

It had been a warm afternoon, Sasuke thought – warm as in comforting (Naruto's air conditioning put on full blast did not exactly allow any warmth temperature-wise). Video games galore. Overflowing tournament tactics.

Friends.

Yeah. Warm.

He smiled bitterly and pulled his legs closer.

After Sakura left, he was the only other occupant in the game room besides Naruto himself. He stood up from the floor to help the blond put away the game console and pick up the empty bowls that had once been filled to the brim with snacks.

"When are you supposed to head home?" asked Naruto casually as they left for the kitchen.

Sasuke shrugged. "Itachi said he'd come to pick me up. I'm guessing around seven o'clock or something like that."

The two opposites placed their bowls on the kitchen countertop. Naruto headed for the refrigerator; Sasuke sat on a nearby stool.

"Granny told me she took a late shift at the hospital today," Naruto said as he returned from the refrigerator with two bottles of vitamin drinks. "So I wouldn't mind a little company."

Sasuke accepted the drink without protest. With a smirk on his face, he drank a quick sip and said, "Are you up for getting beat at another round of Monkey Crushers Two?"

"Hey! I had something in my eye during that last game!"

"Yeah. My dust."

Naruto paused. "Ooh . . . that was good. Dibs on Billy-Bob!"

He raced from the kitchen, leaving Sasuke to follow slowly in his steps with a wider smirk than before.

Eight o'clock came around without any other sign of life but a blond and a brunette. Sasuke began to worry. Itachi had not shown up, nor was he answering his cell phone. Sasuke pressed his thumb against the off button on Naruto's phone for the umpteenth time, growing frustrated.

"He probably just left his cell phone at home or something and he's on his way to pick you up," said Naruto, watching from where he was about to throw a handball through the basketball hoop in the back of the room.

Sasuke believed him for ten minutes. When Itachi still did not show up after ten minutes, Naruto told him to be patient. And so Sasuke was patient – anxious and knee-bouncing, but patient. By nine o'clock, Naruto was gently pulling Sasuke's legs from under him and placing a pillow beneath his head. The Uchiha had fallen asleep.

Naruto reached for the phone once he had made sure Sasuke's body had been placed in a comfortable position.

_"Hey, brat."_

The whiskered boy smiled at the name. "Hey, Granny. Are you coming home any time soon?"

_"Not this time around. Sorry, Naruto. Don't go to sleep late, okay?"_

"Sasuke's here."

_". . . Is he, now?"_

"Yeah. He's asleep." Naruto stole a quick glance at the mentioned brunette, smiling slightly. "He was waiting for Itachi to come pick him up. Do you know where he is?"

_"Can't say that I do,"_ Tsunade replied quickly. _"I'll see if I can find him for you, okay? If he's not there by eleven, Sasuke can sleep over, got it?"_

"Got it."

Naruto hung up after a few more rounds of exchanged words. He sighed heavily, not knowing what else to do, and sat down next to Sasuke to play a single player marathon of video games. It wasn't until ten forty-five, when Naruto was preparing his room for a roommate, did the doorbell ring.

_"Naruto, Mr. Uchiha is here!"_ Kimiko's voice called from downstairs.

Naruto immediately raced to the stairwell to find Itachi already at the top, his shortened bangs dampened with sweat and his eyes rimmed red. The blond cocked his head to the side in slight surprise and confusion. Sapphire eyes caught bright red handprints on Itachi's bare arms.

"Hey," he said to the older man, forcing himself to meet obsidian eyes.

"My apologies for the time of the night, Naruto," replied Itachi. "I had something important to take care of."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

Naruto pointed to the Uchiha sleeping soundlessly in front of the glowing television screen. Itachi swept inside and knelt before him, his hand brushing his brother's hair from his eyes out of habit. He did not move for what seemed like hours until Naruto finally coughed.

"Um . . . are you going to wake him up?"

". . . Right. Sasuke," whispered Itachi. "Come on. It's time to go home."

A stir. A groan. Sasuke opened his eyes, and his obsidian orbs only widened when he saw the redness around his brother's own eyes.

"What happened?" he asked in alarm.

Itachi helped him sit up. "What do you mean?"

"You were crying."

"No, I was not."

"Then why are your eyes red?"

"Come on, Sasuke." Itachi stood up to walk from the room, Sasuke directly at his heels. He bowed his head slightly to Naruto upon exiting. "Thank you for keeping my little brother," he said to him.

"Any time."

Sasuke rubbed the sleep from his eyes, thanking Naruto as well and apologizing for the accidental nap. He caught up to his brother as they strode down the walkway to the car waiting for them.

"I am sorry I was late," Itachi told Sasuke as he positioned himself in the driver's seat. "Important matters needed to be taken care of."

He was thankful the darkness hid the marks on his arms.

Sasuke was fed up. He threw his hands in the air, huffing dramatically.

"You know what? I'm not even going to ask," he said before leaning his head against the window. "It's not like I'm going to get answers from you anyway."

Itachi frowned. He was debating whether or not to play therapist, but the only words that he knew would come from his mouth had been said over and over again: _I can't tell you . . . I know you must be frustrated . . . Just trust me . . ._

Sasuke listened to nothing but the drone of the engine, his eyes watching the dark road winding ahead of them as they moved on. Silence ensued, and he relished in it. He had always loved silence, he remembered. Silence and nothing else.

Tranquility.

"Sasuke."

The younger Uchiha's ears perked at the sudden noise. He lifted his head slowly from the window and turned to stare at his brother, slightly annoyed.

"I want you to know that it is okay to lose the tournament."

Sasuke's eyebrows rose in surprise. A hint of anger nudged his emotions.

"How can you possibly say that?" he asked incredulously. "Losing is _not_ an option with this marathon."

"Well, make it an option."

Sasuke stared at Itachi, trying to decipher the message behind the ridiculous train of thought, but Itachi's indifferent demeanor remained as unreadable as ever. Itachi felt Sasuke's scrutinizing glance on him and he sighed as he turned the steering wheel.

"I simply do not want the events of the last tournament to replay themselves if you lose this one."

"So you don't have confidence in me that I can win this one?"

"I did not say that."

"But you implied it."

"I did not imply anything, Sasuke." Itachi turned to stare at him briefly, a twitch in his eyebrow now evident. "I have complete confidence that you will give your best in this tournament –"

"But my best, apparently, isn't going to be good enough to win."

A sigh. Again. Itachi released the steering wheel briefly to run one hand through his hair. Something was missing, Sasuke noticed. The presence of a neon orange bowl hat was missing.

"Can we stop this conversation before it escalates into an angry argument?" he asked tiredly. "I am rather sick of having an argument with you every time we try to talk."

Sasuke was getting sick of it, too. He could not recall the last time he had ever had so many arguments with Itachi. They were the best of brothers, he remembered. The best of the best. And then Sasuke grew up and started to question the world and the answers he received never pleased him.

"Sure," the younger Uchiha whispered, defeated. He leaned against the window once more.

_But losing isn't an option._

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Having removed detention from his school schedule, Sasuke's routine had made slight alterations: class, class, class, class, lunch, class, café. He had noticed during his Pre Calculus daydreams that the marathon was on a Wednesday.

"Hey," he had whispered to Naruto as Hayate droned on. He nudged the blond to get his full attention. "Are we supposed to run to the marathon directly when school ends tomorrow, or what?"

Naruto let out a short burst of laughter, to which he apologized for when Hayate noticed. He waited until Hayate had turned around to write an equation on the board before replying to Sasuke.

"There's no school tomorrow, Sasuke," he said with amusement lacing his words. "And you call _me_ the stupid one."

Sasuke smirked and looked at Naruto's worksheet. "For a math genius, you got seven times seven wrong."

"What?! No way!"

Naruto grabbed his worksheet with incredulity. He scrunched his face when he realized that in his haste to complete the problem, he had written sixty-four instead of forty-nine in one of the steps.

"Shut up," he snapped good-naturedly. "I still have the higher grade in this class."

"By point one of a percent."

"It counts!"

Sasuke made plans with Naruto to meet him at the Chalk O' Lit Café at four and so, with nothing else to do, the Uchiha headed there immediately after school for an early start. He pushed through the door to be met with a soft chime and Temari's chiding voice.

"Oh, for Suna's sake, Gaara! You're getting sand everywhere!"

"I don't think this single table counts as 'everywhere', Temari."

Sasuke turned to the source of the bickering. His eyes were immediately diverted by a familiar, vivid shag of red hair.

Gaara.

The strange boy was playing with – Sasuke checked twice – _sand_. It was piled high on a table by the counter, pouring from what seemed to be a miniature gourd. Gaara held the sand in the palms of his hands, letting it run through his pale fingers like water.

"You are such a – oh, hey! Uchiha!"

Temari finally took notice of the new arrival. She waved him over, a smile covering the scowl that had once been marring her expression. Sasuke was amused at how quickly she could change her emotions.

The call of the name piqued Gaara's interest. He raised his head of red hair, his sea foam green eyes filled with curiosity. The black paint around his eyes was present, but the kanji of love on his forehead was not.

"Here for another gig?" Temari went on.

"Not really. I'm meeting someone here."

Temari pretended to grow misty-eyed, an evil grin replacing her innocent smile. "Ooh, does _the_ Uchiha Sasuke have a girlfriend?"

Sasuke laughed inwardly at the thought of him with a girl . . . in a relationship . . . giving _commitment_. He did not grace Temari with an answer. Instead, he turned to greet Gaara with the nod of his head.

"Would you mind if I took this seat?" he asked, indicating the seat directly across from Gaara.

"There is no dictator present at the moment to enslave our minds with his radical nonsense and hold us in his grip, squeezing our souls from our bodies as we carry on with what is left of our lives, mindless and empty . . ."

He swept sand from the table and squeezed it powerfully in his fist, letting it slowly trickle out onto the pile in the middle of the table. Sasuke took a cautious step back.

"That's his way of saying yes," Temari called from the counter.

". . . O . . . kay . . ."

Sasuke took the seat warily. Gaara's gaze did not waver from the Uchiha's face.

"What?" Sasuke said rather bluntly.

"Something about your eyes has changed since the last time I saw you," came the monotonous response, the stare of the speaker still ever-present.

_Creepy . . ._

"A lot has changed," said Sasuke. In an attempt to change the subject, he thought for a few moments and replied with a question. "Why is it that I see your brother and sister, yet I never see you in school? There's only one school in all of Konoha."

"That's because he doesn't live in Konoha."

Temari was passing by them, a rag in one hand and a cup in the other.

"Gaara lives in Suna, but Kankuro and I have an apartment over here for our jobs. He's just visiting and staying with us for the marathon tomorrow."

Sasuke did not question the living arrangements. He had another question in mind.

"So you're definitely participating in the marathon, aren't you?" he asked Gaara.

The redhead did not look up from his sand when he said, very casually, "You really want to win this marathon." He separated a smaller pile of sand into two piles. "You have a lot of stake, don't you?"

Sasuke got the hint. "That doesn't change anything about the way this race will be run."

Gaara remained silent.

"Gaara."

Silence.

Sasuke grew aggravated. "If you're thinking about purposely losing the tournament, don't. That's the most idiotic thing I have ever heard."

Gaara simply continued to play with the sand.

"Do you mind elaborating?" pushed Sasuke.

He was met with the deadliest eyes he had ever faced. A part of his mind froze. The stare that was returned to him was filled with so much murderous intent, Sasuke was surprised a boy of sixteen could be able to muster up such an expression.

"Yes," Gaara replied evenly nonetheless, returning his stare to his sand. "I do mind."

"Aw." Temari passed by once more. She smiled. "He really likes you, Uchiha," she teased honestly. "This is the most I've seen him talk to another human being. Well, besides that Neji kid, anyway."

_I can feel the love_, Sasuke thought dryly.

"He's being a softie, Uchiha," Temari continued. "He just doesn't want to admit it."

"I don't need him to suddenly be soft-hearted," Sasuke snapped back. He turned to Gaara once more. "I liked your indifference. Yes, I've got a lot at stake, but what's the point of running the marathon if I can't win it on my own? Do _not_ take me lightly, Sabaku."

Silence.

A smirk finally broke Gaara's murderous expression, his mind changed.

"I do not intend to take you lightly at all," he said. "But I am warning you that a second place trophy does not look nearly as good as the first one."

"With a shelf filled with second place trophies, you should know," Sasuke replied.

A head of blond followed a chime. Sasuke's attention was averted to the new arrival. He smirked and turned to Temari.

"My girlfriend is here," he said, standing up to sit at the table next to Gaara's. "We'll be sitting over here."

"So it's true?!" exclaimed Temari, going into a rant. "I can't wait to meet her! Oh man, I thought you were a totally emotionless prick! I bet she's pretty. Guys like you only date pretty girls."

"Sasuke!"

Naruto strode over, his trademarked grin plastered on his whiskered face. He took a seat in front of the Uchiha.

Temari's jaw dropped.

"Oh, you have _got_ to be kidding me."

Naruto turned to stare at her with a confused expression. "What?"

"This is a joke, right? Damn humor of yours, Uchiha."

"This isn't a joke, Temari."

Sasuke stood and sidled into the seat next to Naruto. He put one arm around the confused blond and leaned closer to him. Naruto's eyes widened.

"Um . . . Sasuke . . . is there something you're not telling me?"

"Temari," Gaara's monotonous voice called out suddenly, joining in. "I'm having an affair. With your boyfriend."

Temari's eyebrow twitched.

"You guys are all fucking insane."

She left for the counter again, not even bothering to take Naruto's order. The blond shifted uncomfortably beneath Sasuke's arm.

"No, seriously, Sasuke," he deadpanned. "Get your arm off of my shoulders."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Drum roll, please!"

"Drrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrraaaah!"

Kakashi and Naruto suddenly dropped to the floor, covering their heads with their hands and waiting for the explosion that was sure to follow.

Silence.

Naruto was brave enough to rise from the floor. He stared at the victim of his so-called drum roll (rapidly tapping Sasuke's forehead with his fingers): a sleeping Uchiha Sasuke. But Sasuke simply rolled over and scratched his bare chest.

"He's still asleep," Naruto whispered to Kakashi, chuckling softly.

Kakashi lifted his head from the ground and crawled over next to Naruto. "Tickle him. He's a ticklish son of a batch of cookies."

"Yeah, right," said Naruto, unbelieving.

"No, really. Watch."

Kakashi let his fingers walk over Sasuke's bare chest, brushing very, very delicately against his scarred skin.

Sasuke did not move.

"Really ticklish, Kakashi," Naruto said dryly. "You –"

"Fuck! What?!"

Sasuke jerked awake, eyes wide, rubbing his neck furiously. Kakashi was grinning triumphantly beneath his mask.

"Right beneath the chin," he said. "It gets him every time."

"Duck and cover!"

Kakashi and Naruto returned to their protective positions on the floor once more. Sasuke's inner grouch had been awakened by the light of day. He switched sides on the bed and crawled to the edge to look down upon the two males on his carpet.

"It lives!" Kakashi could not help but exclaim as he pretended to cower in fear. "Tell Pakkun I hated him, Naruto!"

"Kakashi, there's something I've always wanted to tell you!" Naruto said in return.

"What the _hell_ are you two doing in my house?!"

"I was the one that stole your sugar cookies last Tuesday!"

Kakashi paused and then, in a normal voice, he said, "Wait, that was _you_?"

Sasuke waved his hand. "Hello! Boy-whose-privacy-was-invaded over here! That's it, Kakashi. Hand over that spare key."

Naruto grinned and stood up. He outstretched his arms and in a voice that could wake the demons in Hell, he said, "Good morning, Sasuke!"

The Uchiha almost seemed to whine. He covered his face with his hands and let himself fall back to be cushioned by his mattress, bouncing slightly. "I wanted to get a full twelve hours of sleep!" he all but complained. "Why must you torture me like this?"

"I think eleven hours is perfectly okay," said Kakashi. "It's eleven o'clock. The marathon is in five hours."

"Wake me up at twelve."

He rolled over and shoved his face into the pillow. A certain blond had other things in mind.

"Call in the big guns."

Kakashi feigned a look of horror. "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice shaking. "But that's too powerful for even us to handle!"

"How long are you going to keep this charade up?" mumbled Sasuke, pulling the pillow around his head tighter. He knew that the only possible way to get the slightest bit of privacy was to move to Antarctica, but even then, he was sure someone would manage to find him.

In unison, the malicious males in the room yelled, "Kisame!" Almost immediately, Sasuke jerked from the bed and hastily put his prosthetic leg in place.

"I'm up! I'm up!" he said frantically.

Too late.

Kisame came charging into the room from nowhere. He rammed into Sasuke, lifted him over his shoulder, and spun him around until the Uchiha threatened to be sick.

"Why?" Sasuke pleaded to the skies. "Why did I have to meet these people? Why couldn't I be best friends with a rock?"

"Did you hear that?" Kisame said, wiggling his eyebrows. "He called me his best friend."

Kakashi clapped the grumpy Sasuke on the shoulder. "Go get dressed in your marathon clothes. I'm treating you guys to brunch and then we'll waste some time until the tournament comes up."

"Where's Itachi?"

The missing presence lessened the enlightened feeling Sasuke had woken up to. He wanted to be with his brother that day. He had spent plenty of time with Kakashi, Kisame, and Naruto. Now he just wanted his brother – his quiet, quiet brother.

Kakashi gave the Uchiha a slight push. "Don't worry," he said. "He'll be there."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Naruto had insisted on the Chalk O' Lit Café. Despite several protests from Kakashi ("You go there everyday! Aren't you sick of it?"), it was the place all four males were seated, their brunch out in front of them and Kakashi's wallet too light for his liking.

"Kisame, you can pay for your own food," Kakashi chided, watching the man devour a veggie burger in three bites.

"I never pass up an offer for free food," said Kisame. He raised his hands. "Hey, Ms. Temari, can I have –"

"Order another sandwich and you are a dead man."

"– . . . a hug!"

Temari stared from Kisame, to Kakashi, to Sasuke, and then to Naruto before her memories of the day before sent a shiver down her spine.

"That's it," she mumbled. "I'm buying pepper spray."

Sasuke found his leg shaking. He tried to suppress it, but to no avail. Naruto, sitting next to him, felt the vibrations.

"You're excited," he said, grinning.

"I shouldn't be. It'll get my heart racing."

Naruto sat back, staring at the grown Uchiha with a smile on his face. A part of the blond wished Sasuke had never decided to go to the marathon again. There was always a chance he could lose, and when he lost, he didn't want the Uchiha's world to plunge into chaos and darkness like it had done the last time. This side, despite all the growth Sasuke had been going through, did not believe Sasuke would handle losing well.

But the other part of Naruto told him that Sasuke was going to win.

"It's okay to be excited," he whispered to the brunette. "A major tournament for you is only two hours away. Anybody with emotions would be stupid not to be excited."

When Sasuke did not reply, Naruto nudged him slightly.

"Go play a song," he said. "There's nobody scheduled now. It'll be a good breathing exercise."

"I'm not in the mood," Sasuke said with the shake of his head. "When I get up there, I have one feeling and one song to match. But now, I don't know _what_ I'm feeling."

"Would you stop worrying your pretty little head off?" said Kisame. "You're Uchiha Sasuke. You're going to do _fine_."

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," repeated Sasuke. "That's what I'm worried about."

They left the café at three o'clock to walk to the starting point, much like Naruto and Sasuke had done the previous tournament. Naruto outlined the marathon as they walked on.

The route wasn't _through_ Konoha – it was _around_ Konoha, and rather than getting from one point to the other, the runners were going to go around Konoha one way and return to the same starting point by coming around the other way.

It was long, but it was worth five thousand dollars.

Competitors were not just from Konoha and Suna. They were from the other neighboring towns as well, each marked with the town's symbol on the numbers attached to their shirts. Sasuke was expecting at least a hundred other runners.

When he got there, there were only twenty, and Naruto told Sasuke not to expect any more than fifty.

"They're the best of the best from every town," explained Naruto, warily eyeing some of the foreign boys that were already out and stretching. "There shouldn't be that many. I mean, with Neji and Kiba injured, we've only got you, Lee, Erika, Lea, and me from our town."

Kisame pulled them over to a group of provided plastic chairs beneath an umbrella. He counted five chairs. Four were occupied.

"Where's Itachi?" Sasuke asked for the second time that day. "His shift ended half an hour ago."

"Man, you worry way too much, Sasuke. Mellow out. Have a muffin," Kisame said with a feigned drawl. "Itachi is going to be here to see you run off of that starting line."

"He'd better," Kakashi whispered to Kisame when Sasuke left to speak with arriving friends. "Sasuke won't do well if he doesn't see him."

Sakura and Ino were the first to arrive, a bouquet of flowers in Ino's hand. Sakura pulled two of the white carnations from the bouquet and handed one to Sasuke and one to Naruto.

"Symbols of good luck," she told them, her emerald eyes sparkling.

Sasuke twirled the flower between his fingers, unsure of what to do with it. Naruto placed his behind his ear. Ino, her mind sparking with an idea, grabbed the carnation from Sasuke's hand and put it behind the Uchiha's own ear.

Sakura, Naruto, and Ino let out bouts of laughter at the new fashion accessory Sasuke was sporting.

"What the heck are you trying to do, Ino? De-masculate them?"

Kiba came limping from behind the boys, a grimace on his face. He grabbed the carnation from behind Naruto's ear.

"Don't you mean _e_masculate?" said Sakura.

"No. _De_-masculate. You're taking away their masculinity!"

The girls rolled their eyes in unison.

"There's nothing wrong with a man wearing a flower! You're just not man enough to wear one!"

"I'm not falling for that."

A hand suddenly clapped on Kiba's shoulder and the boy jumped so high, he stumbled backwards for a few moments before falling at the feet of the guilty Genma. The man smiled sheepishly.

"I keep doing that, don't I?" the man said, helping Kiba up. "It's a good thing you're not running."

After Genma came Lee, TenTen, and Sai who were soon followed by Hinata, Shino, Chouji, and Shikamaru. Sasuke stared around the area to take in the sea of unrecognizable people that had grown in size in a matter of minutes.

Yet no Itachi.

The sea was watching him. Heads were turning in his direction, remembering. Their eyes swept to his covered legs, but they knew what hid beneath.

Sasuke didn't care.

"Stretch those legs, guys and gals and prepare for one heck of a righteous speech in fifteen minutes!" said Genma, clapping his hands together and rubbing them.

"Don't look so down," said Naruto as he sat next to the stretching Uchiha. "Itachi's definitely going to show."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Ah. So you do not have confidence in me?"

Sasuke turned around immediately and was met with a mouthful of a cotton shirt. He pulled away to stare into the dry eyes of his brother.

"I never said that," Sasuke said with a smirk.

"But you implied it."

Itachi knelt down at Sasuke's side and ruffled his brother's hair teasingly, smirking when his brother fervently tried to flatten his hair.

"How could I possibly miss my little brother's big run?"

"Could've fooled me . . ." Sasuke mumbled, to which Itachi only flicked him on the ear.

"I'm going to have a chat with Kakashi for a few minutes and I'll check up on you before the gunfire."

Naruto watched the exchange between the brothers with a pensive smile. He leaned back and admired the twisted bond, feeling his heart ache slightly. When Itachi left, he resumed his stretching.

"It's nice to have a brother, isn't it?" he said softly.

Sasuke stared at the retreating figure of his brother, thinking about it. "It's a huge pain in the neck," he said. "But yeah. It's worth it."

His gaze rested on Naruto's contemplative expression. The blonde's eyes were clouded with thoughts, a small, sad smile upon his face. Sasuke felt . . . bad. He added Naruto to his short list of broken lives.

Speaking of broken lives, Neji was hobbling over on his crutches. TenTen was the first to greet him, pecking his lips with her own.

"You're free?" she asked him.

"He didn't want me alone in the house so he personally dropped me off," Neji replied to her. He grimaced. "What a fun ride that was."

Sasuke watched the Hyuuga walk around to speak to a number of people. He stopped to have a quick conversation with Gaara, the kanji of love freshly painted on the boy's forehead. With three minutes left to go until Genma began his speech, Sasuke was surprised to find Neji walking over to him.

"Uchiha," he said in greeting.

Sasuke did not return the greeting. Instead, he said, "Someone in your house doesn't like you, and I'm guessing that leg was no accident."

"Stalking, are we?" said Neji, sitting down next to the Uchiha.

"So I'm getting warmer?"

"Warmer, but not warm enough. This leg was kind of an accident."

"Will you add some fuel to the fire?"

Neji smirked. "Maybe after the marathon."

"Uchiha! Hyuuga! Shimmy your butts on over here and let's make one heck of a speech!"

Genma handed out the numbers as he began the speech; Sasuke was graced with the number eighteen.

"This is the mother that gives birth to all the other tournaments . . ."

". . . The Big Kahuna that reigns over all . . ."

". . . The stripper with the whip and the power . . ."

Sasuke pinned the numbers to his shirt, his mouth never uttering a single word to contribute to the speech. His mind was on his breathing. In . . . out . . . in . . . out . . . His heart was beating quickly.

_You'll win this thing._

"Alright, Lee, finish it up," Genma said, pointing to the eccentric boy clad in his usual spandex.

"And may the youth of all our beautiful –"

"We can't end like that, man! Alright, Sai! You take a crack at it!"

"At the pinnacle of every man's puberty is a growing peni–"

"Uchiha! You finish it up!"

Sasuke looked around, mildly surprised at the call of his name. All eyes were on him to finish the speech. He said the first words that came to his mind.

"And whatever happens," he said, "this tournament doesn't change anything."

Genma smiled, nodding. "Now that was a good way to end a great speech."

_"Racers, please take your positions on the starting line. We will begin the race in two minutes."_

"Have fun, kiddies." Genma wiped away a fake tear. "You guys make me so proud. Except you, Inuzuka! I mean, come _on!_ Tripping over _game wires?_"

"Don't make me tell them about that time that involved you, the equipment closet, and a baseball bat."

"Alrighty, then! Off you trot!"

Sasuke felt a hand wrap itself around his wrist. Itachi pulled him away from the crowd of teenagers.

"Charge, check?" he asked without the slightest hint of hesitation.

Sasuke felt a strange feeling swell in his chest. His lips twitched. "Check."

"Hydration, check?"

"Check."

Pause.

"Boogeyman-repellant headgear, check?"

Itachi reached into his back pocket, rummaging around for something that didn't seem to be there. Sasuke's eyes widened in horror, as did Itachi's.

"You don't –?"

"Gotcha."

Itachi finally pulled out the neon orange bowl hat and fixed it over his shortened hair. "And that's a check. Good luck, Sasuke. And whatever happens –" He squeezed his brother's shoulder, "– this tournament won't change anything."

_Copycat._

_"Racers, to your marks!"_

"See you at the finish line, 'tachi."

Sasuke took his place between Naruto and, surprisingly, Gaara. The redhead swept a brief glance over the Uchiha and a smirk graced his lips.

"No holding back," he said.

"No holding back," Sasuke repeated.

"Uchiha, you fucker, look this way!"

How could he not? He smirked, turning to find Tayuya standing with Kidomaru at her side, both of them staring at him with equal smirks on their faces.

"You won't let any of those losers beat you, will you?" Kidomaru called.

_I'm guessing that's their version of good luck._

"Kimimaro's with you."

_. . . No, that was their good luck._

He had no time to reminisce.

_"Get set!"_

_BANG!_

The pistol was fired, and off they went. No one took off running; they were good, Sasuke thought, but by the lead he and Gaara took, he knew he was better.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

It was the same routine as the last marathon: little plastic flags outlining the trail, security making sure no one pulled any stunts, and officials handing out water every eight hundred meters. Thirty minutes into the tournament and Sasuke and Gaara still had the lead.

And everything was going fine.

"You're doing better," Gaara said as they turned a corner.

Sasuke only replied with a scoff. He wanted to save whatever breaths he could afford, and having a conversation wasn't on the top of his to-do list for the marathon. The pair of speed demons was the only pair for a few meters. Sasuke could see the familiar face of Lee and the unfamiliar face of a foreign boy behind them.

He had never been to this part of Konoha, he realized as he looked around the area. It was deep into the town; he could see unlit neon signs behind the fence of trees. Perhaps this had been the place where Itachi had searched for jobs at the bar and had been –

_Don't think about that._

He had felt his heart begin to race when the memory surfaced and so he did his best to suppress it, thinking instead about the wakeup call he had gotten that morning. He smirked.

"Something amusing?" asked Gaara.

The redhead was a few steps ahead.

"Just thinking," Sasuke said quickly.

_Damn it, Naruto! Catch up! I'm bored!_

An hour into the tournament and things were still looking good health-wise. Sasuke had no feverish feelings, nor were there any stubborn knee joints, and his prosthetic leg was holding out well. Gaara was only ahead of him by two meters.

Half an hour later, his breathing was beginning to become labored.

It was the very beginning of heavy breathing. It wasn't because of a fever, no. It wasn't because of a broken rib, or a bruise, or internal bleeding. It was simply because Sasuke was getting tired.

Tired.

_Halfway there!_ he read as he passed beneath a large yellow sign. He had made it around one way of Konoha. Now he had to make it around the other way.

But his stamina was weakening.

It had been weak to begin with. Ever since he had entered the hospital after the last tournament, his stamina had decreased. And now, in the marathon, it showed the most.

"Keep up, Uchiha," Gaara called from four meters ahead.

_Count on it,_ thought Sasuke. He stole a quick glance behind him.

No one.

At least his stamina had withheld its power to a certain extent.

He grabbed a cup of water from the next stand that came up, not stopping and not caring that most of the water ended on his shirt instead of in his mouth. The sun was positioned to begin its slow descent.

When he lost sight of Gaara half an hour later, his mind immediately went into planning mode.

_You've got to do this, Uchiha. Find Gaara. Estimate how far he is, and then when you can see the finish line, sprint for it. Save up energy and sprint, damn it!_

He squinted at a sign that became visible in the distance after another half hour passed.

_3 miles._

Three miles. It would be twelve laps around a normal track, meaning give or take another thirty minutes.

And with another thirty minutes, Sasuke recalculated his position.

And realized the inevitable:

There was no way he could win this tournament.

There was no way he could possibly be the first to break through the ribbon at the end and walk out with the first place trophy in hand. Impossible.

_Nothing's impossible_, the proverb taunted in his head.

But some things were. Some things were impossible, unless he could fly, or if he could run with the speed of a cheetah.

Winning was impossible.

He felt his face grow warm and the air stung against his dampened eyes.

How long had he trained for the last tournament? He had trained for so long; so many months of constant training, seven hours a day, seven days a week. He had sacrificed everything for that tournament and he had come so close to winning, yet not close enough.

What had he done to prepare for this marathon?

Weeks in the hospital. Mental breakdowns. Emotional stress. An abused bruise covering half of his torso. And then about twenty days of light training.

The influenza and constant hospitalization had forced his body into a weakened state and in order to be in top shape for the marathon – Gaara's shape, he thought resentfully – he would have needed to train like he had trained before.

He let a watery, bitter laugh escape his lips. One of his hands swiped quickly at his eyes. Heck, he was surprised he had made it this far! Now that realization had dawned onto him, he honestly was surprised that his body had managed to keep up with him for an entire two hours and a half of nonstop jogging.

If it would last him for just another half hour, he would get second place.

Second place.

It wasn't first.

_Sorry, Neji_, he thought. He couldn't win it for him. _Sorry, Kimimaro_. He couldn't win it for the Sound 5, either. _Sorry . . . Mom._

He couldn't win it for her, either.

And that was what hurt the most.

_"I want you to know that it is okay to lose the tournament."_

Itachi had told him to make losing an option. Had he already realized that there was no way for Sasuke to win? Had he already taken in account all of the factors and calculated the outcome? Sasuke would not put it past his brother to do so.

He should have just waited, he thought. He should have realized he couldn't win from the first place. He should have never enrolled in the marathon, because now it was going to hurt.

He wiped hastily at his eyes once more as realization continued to put its full weight onto his shoulders. He was cursing himself.

But he refused to break down.

He made a mental contract with himself: this tournament would not end like it had before. Everyone now knew he had a prosthetic leg. There was nothing left to hide. The only thing left would be for him to have a mental breakdown because he could not win the money.

Yet there was still the second place twenty-five hundred dollars. And it was still a lot of money. He was still going to be able to help out Itachi immensely with twenty-five hundred dollars. So everything was good, right?

_"Sabaku Gaara is the first to cross the finish line!"_

Sasuke heard the uproar in the distance. He could not see the finish line yet due to the corner he needed to turn, but he could still hear the crowd chanting his name.

He clenched his fists.

But damn it, losing hurt so much.

The finish line came into sight now. He could see Temari and Kankuro tending to Gaara by the side of the fence holding back the rest of the crowd, their heads creating a sea of colors in the light of the dying sunset. Their roaring was the only thing Sasuke could hear. Roaring, and shouting, and screaming.

They were screaming his name.

They were cheering for him, telling him to hurry up. He could make out Genma's distinct voice, telling him that he could win it for Konoha. Kakashi was there, his hands held in what seemed to be prayer, but his eyes never once leaving Sasuke.

It wasn't magical.

Sasuke crossed the finish line and felt nothing. Nothing. The only overwhelming emotion he had was regret. People were still calling his name, but he could hear other names begin to be shouted as the other runners neared the finish line.

He hadn't come in first.

Everything seemed dulled.

That was it. He lost. End of story.

Just . . . nothing.

_Where's Itachi?_

His eyes scanned the crowd, silencing their screams and blurring their images, looking for the one head that mattered to him the most at that moment.

But it was nowhere in sight.

Sasuke felt like tearing his mental contract and breaking down right there. He felt his face heating again. He had lost.

Lost.

Lost.

"Sasuke."

And now he was delirious, because there was no way the owner of that voice could possibly be physically near him. That familiar voice, the voice he yearned to hear, was in his head.

"Sasuke, honey."

He froze.

Froze.

_No. No, shut up! Shut up, shut up, shut up!_

He was afraid to turn around, but his shaking legs took the duty of doing it for him. That voice. _That voice!_

". . . Mom?"

His mother was there –

There –

There! –, sitting in a wheelchair, her thinned face vibrant and radiant and smiling. Itachi was right behind her; Sasuke swore he was smiling.

"Everything is just fine, Sasuke."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

****** . . . **Okay, now how many people expected that?

Now piece everything together!

Some of you guys were way off with your predictions. Some of you were close, and **NekoKriszty** had actually gotten a large gist of it, but no one said anything about Mikoto showing up. R.G. Waffles screws with your minds once again.


	29. All You Wanted

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . what would I do with ninjas?!

**Author's Note:** Ladies and gentlemen . . . I think we only have one more chapter left.

I'm almost positive the next chapter will be the last (not including the bonus). I haven't finished it yet, and don't quote me, but it could be.

So brace yourselves.

In the mean time, things in life seem to be getting better on this side as well. It's 2:41 in the morning, I have to work with kids at my school at 8 in the morning, and my best friend is finally arriving from New York. I am too excited.

Second to last chapter (probably), here it comes!

**Chapter 29  
**…**:::All You Wanted:::…  
****Michelle Branch**

**WARNING: Real emotions. Some people call it "OOC".**

Words?

What were words?

Sasuke couldn't remember. Words were useless. They could not express his feelings. The words had been taken from his open mouth to never return, leaving him in a breathless, doubtful, paralyzed state. He was unmoving, unfeeling, unhearing, unbelieving.

Was she there?

Was his mother really in front of him, or was it his hopeful mind simply playing tricks with his consciousness? He had had enough of crushed hopes. Enough.

The world around him was silent; there was screaming and shouting and cheering, but to Sasuke, there was only an eerie silence that pressed against his ears as he slowly, slowly, slowly moved forwards to the surreal image affront of him.

Mikoto did not move. She only watched her son with weary eyes.

A thin, shaking hand reached out. Sasuke's fingers grazed his mother's cheek, feeling the smooth skin with his fingertips, the prominence of her cheekbone, feeling _reality_. When Mikoto's smile widened, he felt her muscles move.

He _felt_ it.

So she had to be real.

"Mom . . ." he whispered breathlessly, and in a flash of movement, he was embracing her.

He squeezed her tightly, his face buried in the crook of her shoulder. He wasn't going to let go of her ever again. He felt her hands move to embrace him weakly in return.

His fingers struggled to grasp her clothing as he continued to hold her, his shoulders shaking dangerously from the tears that were shamelessly falling from his healing eyes.

"Mom," he repeated, his voice muffled in her shoulder. "Mom. Mom!"

"Sasuke," she replied with equal breathlessness. One of her hands was repeatedly stroking his hair as her own tears fell. "Oh honey, oh God . . ."

Even her words had betrayed her. They had flown far away to be replaced with overwhelming emotion. She kissed the top of his head.

"It's you," Sasuke managed to say. "I've waited so long, Mom. I . . . You . . . I . . ."

He pulled back, his expression devoid of any smiles, his eyes overflowing with tears as he took his mother's face in his hands. Her eyes were bright and filled with life, contrasting sharply with the sallow complexion of her taut skin. But she was there, and alive, and well, and that was all Sasuke needed. He hugged her once more.

The sound around him came back all at once all of a sudden. More runners had crossed the finish line; Naruto was one of them. He was running with all the might his tired legs propelled him to, running to the Uchiha family with a look of shock written all over his sun-kissed features.

"Mrs. Uchiha . . .?" he whispered, his sapphire eyes still wide.

Mikoto looked at Naruto from over Sasuke's shoulder. Her smile only grew and her scrunching eyes created more falling tears. Sasuke pulled away and wiped at his eyes to clear his vision. He felt someone grab his shoulders suddenly as the noise carried on in the background.

"You won!" Naruto shouted at him, shaking him. "Sasuke, you won!"

"I got second, you idiot," Sasuke said, but his current emotions did not allow him to place in any bitterness.

"No, no, you won! Your mom's back!"

Sasuke turned back to his mother and gave a watery smile, his teeth shining brightly in the lights of the street as he ignored the spoken cliché. "Yeah," he said, his hand reaching out to touch his mother's face again. "I won."

Naruto took his own turn to briefly hug Mikoto, laughing his chime-like chortle. Before Sasuke could return to his mother's arms, someone else was grabbing him from behind and pulling him close.

"I'm really proud of you, Sasuke," was the whisper.

Kakashi.

_"Sabaku Gaara, Uchiha Sasuke, and Rock Lee, please come to the finish line,"_ an anonymous voice spoke over a megaphone.

_Worst timing ever._

Sasuke turned back to his mother. "I . . ."

He stopped when her bony hand stroked his cheek tenderly. "Go," she said. "I'm not going anywhere anymore."

"Come on, Sasuke," said Naruto, pushing the Uchiha slightly forwards. "Make your mother proud."

_With second place?_

His legs reluctantly left, his eyes never leaving his mother's figure until they were forced away by a woman at the placing stands. She turned him around and guided him to the number two, telling him to stand as she placed a medal around his neck.

Gaara stood on the first place stand, elevated higher than Sasuke by a few inches, his face emotionless as he looked out into the crowd. In a brief instant, he turned to stare at the red-eyed Uchiha.

"I didn't go easy on you," he said as the cameras flashed.

"I wouldn't have had it any other way," was the reply.

Lee turned to the side and flashed a grin and thumbs up. "Your youth is sparkling like never before, Sasuke!" he exclaimed. "Such beauty in your tears!"

_Shut up, Lee_, Sasuke thought, because he could not bring himself to say the words out loud.

Voices were speaking around him, over the megaphone, explaining how Gaara was the first place winner, Sasuke was the second, and Lee was the third, and about the money going to charity, about the tournament in general. . . .

Sasuke wasn't listening.

He found his mother and Itachi in the crowds. Itachi's face of indifference was missing; in its place was an expression of pride, an expression of admiration, of congratulations. Sasuke remembered the redness his eyes had once held and his mind immediately began to piece together the events into a story that finally made sense.

Was this the secret Itachi had been keeping from him?

It wasn't possible for his mother to wake up from a coma, be able to move and speak freely, and fly from England to Konoha in a single day. It would have had to have taken at least a week.

And if Sasuke recalled correctly, Itachi had begun his nightmarish nights a little over a week ago.

But why had he kept something as important as his mother's awakening a secret?

"Mr. Uchiha?"

The same woman that had placed the medal around his neck was waiting for him to accept the paper in her hands. He took it and examined it closely.

It was a check for two thousand five hundred dollars.

_"Ladies and gentlemen, one last round for our marathon winners!"_

The result was a deafening roar of applause and cheers. Even Mikoto, Sasuke could see, was clapping her hands with as much strength as her frail figure would allow her, her smile revealing both rows of her teeth and her eyes scrunched to the point of disappearance.

Sasuke hopped down from his placement stand with the full intention of returning to his mother and brother, but someone held him back with the tug of his wrist. He turned around to be greeted wit fuchsia hair.

Tayuya.

Sasuke's spirits fell immediately and he turned around again, trying to wrench from her grasp.

"I'm sorry," he whispered, struggling to break free. "I'm really sorry, Tayuya. I couldn't win the tournament for him."

"What the fuck are you talking about?" she said. Her tone was lacking even the slightest hint of anger. "You won the tournament for Konoha. Fuck that Gaara kid. You're a Konoha man." She released his wrist and punched him lightly in the shoulder. "At least you've got more fucking expressions than that stony-faced bastard. You knew how to make Kimimaro laugh. That's enough, isn't it?"

Sasuke smirked to humor her. He officially knew Kakashi's therapist powers were contagious.

"I have to get back to someone really important to me," he said. "And so do you. I'll see you around."

Tayuya looked into the crowd, her amber eyes catching a glimpse of a concerned-looking Mikoto. She smirked at the woman before returning to Sasuke and nodding her head in understanding.

"Count on it."

Sasuke practically ran back to where his miniature entourage stood. He held up the check to his brother.

"Have I finally made you proud?" he asked.

Itachi did not take the check.

"I was always proud of you, Sasuke," he said. "I suppose you want an explanation."  
"I'd like that."

_Home at last,_ thought Sasuke. _We're going home at last – all of us. Together._

"We need, however, to return mother to the hospital. She has not been dispatched yet and it was only on a few pulled strings that I have managed to bring her to this tournament."

_Or not._

Naruto offered to drive the group to the hospital since he was heading there to see his grandmother, but the decision was to take their own cars to the hospital. Itachi wheeled his mother past the thinning crowd, Sasuke close to their side. He had given his mother his medal to look over as he spoke to her.

"There's so much to tell you," he said excitedly. "A lot went on while you were gone. It'll take years to explain."

Mikoto laughed. Sasuke missed the melodic sound and yearned to hear it once more.

"Itachi told me a bit of your antics, but nothing in detail. I'm sure they'll make great bedtime stories."

"And breakfast stories, and lunch stories, and dinner stories, and . . ."

He spoke rapidly. He was excited all of a sudden. The tournament was nothing but a trace of memory. Now that his mother was in the picture, the marathon and the second place victory had been pushed back.

Itachi smirked inwardly.

He asked Sasuke to open the car door as he picked his mother up from her wheelchair.

"I can walk, dear," Mikoto said with laughter in her voice as Itachi placed her onto the seat in the back.

"Nonsense, mother. You need all the rest you can get. Sasuke, fold the chair and put it in the back while I start the car."

Having had experience with a wheelchair, Sasuke deftly did as he was told, sliding into the seat next to his mother when he was done. She leaned against his shoulder teasingly.

"You seem to be so much happier since I last saw you," she told him as Itachi drove. "But you're still too skinny!"

"Mother, if he was a hundred pounds heavier, you would still say he is too skinny."

"You shouldn't be the one to talk. You're taller than he is and probably weigh less."

Sasuke smiled inwardly. It seemed so surreal to have his mother suddenly leaning against his shoulder after having been in a coma for so long. Too surreal. He didn't know how to act. He didn't know where to start. He had so many things to tell her. So many events to describe, so many feelings.

"When did you get here?" he asked at last. "To Konoha."

"The day before yesterday," she replied.

"Remember when I was late picking you up from Naruto's house? I had gone to see mother upon her arrival," Itachi said from the front seat. "The day I came in asking you if you could trust me was the day the doctors in England had called me with the news that she had woken from her coma."

"I thought you'd taken drugs again."

"Again?!" Mikoto's smile disappeared suddenly and she pulled herself closer to Itachi's seat. "What does he mean 'again'?"

"You didn't tell her that, did you?" Sasuke said with a grimace.

Itachi flexed his fingers on the steering wheel. "I was planning on telling her that lovely story when she had not just come to Konoha."

"Boys."

"I shall kill you later for this, Sasuke. Mother, I promise to tell the story in due time. Let us think about the positive things. For example, if you would look to your left."

Mikoto and Sasuke simultaneously turned to stare out of the window to the left. Kisame's blue Chevrolet® was passing and the man, almost equally as blue, peered from the window and waved brightly.

"Kissy-face, watch the road!" Mikoto said worriedly from her window.

_Nice distraction, Itachi_, Sasuke thought to himself, smirking inwardly. He could tell Itachi was reading his thoughts. The older Uchiha smirked as well and caught Sasuke's glance in the mirror.

Mikoto, however, knew her sons all too well. When she made sure Kisame was in no danger of hitting an unsuspecting tree, she turned back to the Uchiha brothers and sighed.

"You boys have a lot of explaining to do when we get to the hospital."

Itachi parked close to the entrance of the hospital. Sasuke quickly sidled from his seat to unfold the wheelchair in the back and helped his mother into it. She swatted his aiding arms away, but Itachi took over and lifted her into the seat.

"I am _not_ crippled," she said with a huff.

"I can see where Sasuke gets his stubbornness."

Naruto had appeared after having ridden with Kakashi. His usual grin was plastered on with full power. Kakashi stood next to him in silence.

"Where's Kisame?" Itachi asked as they wheeled Mikoto into the brightly lit lobby. He stared around, but the bluish man was nowhere in sight.

Mikoto put a hand to her mouth. "I hope he's alright," she said. "I told him to watch the road."

"He's going to pop in randomly, mother. It's Kisame."

A certain silver-haired man paid no attention to the conversation. His single eye was transfixed upon the younger Uchiha who was walking in silence with an unreadable expression on his face.

"So what are you thinking about?" he whispered, leaning in close to the boy.

Sasuke looked up at him without the slightest hint of surprise. His expression softened and he smirked.

"You've been my therapist for way too long," he said.

"I find that a good thing. Now tell me."

They were maneuvering through the halls to get to the room Mikoto had been held in. Sasuke recognized the all-too-familiar hallways. Something told him his mother's room wasn't even close; he remembered being sent to a room deep into the hospital when he had woken from his coma and moved to Konoha.

"I don't know," he began in a whisper. "It's just . . . this is too _good_, you know? My mom's back. It's almost too good to be true. It's a lot to take in and think about, and then there are all the explanations I want to get to, but I don't know where to start."

Kakashi put a hand around his shoulders as they walked on. "Maybe someone thought you needed a break. You _can_ have good things happen in your life, you know. You've just got to hold onto them as long as you can."

He pushed him a little towards his mother.

"So go hold on."

Sasuke looked back at him and smiled ever-so-slightly, but it was there. Kakashi smiled beneath his mask. He missed that look on his student. His footsteps soon stopped and he stared at the figures that continued to move on.

It wasn't his time to spend with them. He said goodbye mentally and turned around to head out of the hospital, knowing to return when he knew he was needed.

The room Itachi pushed Mikoto into was all the way at the end of a rather lengthy hallway. It was small, but it was a private room, with a few unhooked machines and a closed window on the back wall.

Kisame was, surprisingly, there. He grinned and waved. Sasuke was disturbed at the fact that he did not feel surprised in the least. Tsunade was there as well. She turned around and was absolutely beaming. Naruto moved forwards to hug her and show her his participation certificate. She took it with pride and put it on her clipboard before turning to the other arrivals.

"What did his face look like?" she teased, taking Mikoto from Itachi.

"Kind of like what I look like when I see you in the morning. Shocked," Sasuke retorted with a smirk.

"Sasuke!"

"It's alright, Miki," said Tsunade. "Your little black sheep over here has been even more cynical and sarcastic since you've left."

She helped Mikoto into her bed and immediately began to attach the monitors and machines to her frail body. Sasuke was familiar with each and every single one of them. He had been there, had done that.

"So do I get an explanation now?" he asked the settling occupants. "If she's been awake for a week, why wasn't I told about it?"

He didn't feel angry. Quite frankly, he wasn't sure what he would have done if he had known a week earlier. He would have tried to fly to England himself; he would have been too excited every day, unable to sleep, trying his best for the tournament knowing so much was at stake.

Suddenly, though, he felt he knew why Itachi hadn't told him.

"Mother is here," Itachi began. "And you got second place in the tournament, yet you do not seem the least bit saddened."

Sasuke cocked his head to the side. He saw Naruto do just the same out of the corner of his eyes.

"Even with all of the growth you have been doing mentally, Sasuke, you still would have fallen into the slightest state of depression. Please do not deny it," he said quickly, seeing his brother's mouth open to speak. "You cannot predict the future, and neither can I, but I can at least base my predictions on things that have happened. You thought you had so much at stake to win the tournament, and even getting second place would not suffice."

Sasuke did not want to think his brother was right, even though his conscience told him he was. He hated his conscience.

"But now, the tournament has not crossed your mind since you have seen mother. Think about what would have happened if I had told you about her before. You would have been so happy, and your need to win the tournament would have risen. We would be sedating you for hysteria by now.

"Showing you mother now took out the risk of letting you fall into depression. You were neutral before the tournament, unhappy after the tournament, and now you are happy and not thinking about the sadness. Do you understand now?"

Sasuke took the information in and processed it for a few moments. It was confusing, yet somewhat true. Itachi's logical reasoning made sense. Perhaps _he_ had been spending too much time around Kakashi.

The more Sasuke thought about it, the more it made sense.

He would have been the way Itachi predicted. He would have felt the urge – the _need_ – to win the tournament for his mother. And now that he had only gotten second place, the events of the last tournament would have replayed, and _he_ would be the one in the hospital bed instead of his mother.

He wasn't angry Itachi hadn't told him.

He didn't care about anything anymore, really. Not for a while.

Because his mother was in front of his very eyes and that was all that mattered at the moment.

"You're a good brother," Naruto told Itachi all of a sudden, smiling sadly, but not staring at anyone in particular. "To think that far ahead for him is amazing."

Sasuke frowned and put a mental asterisk next to Naruto's name on his list of broken lives.

Itachi smirked. "Kakashi told me I was having nightmares because of the guilt."

"Now it's my turn for an explanation," Mikoto interrupted softly. "What's this about taking drugs, Itachi?"

The room turned silent. Tsunade said she would be right back and quickly left, her heels clicking sharply in the stillness. Naruto turned away, rubbing the back of his neck.

Kisame suddenly jumped up from his seat and put his arms out dramatically. "Hey, I know! Why don't we tell her about that time Sasuke tried to fend me off with a shoebox. Huh? Huh?!"

Itachi smirked and patted his close friend on the shoulder. "Nice try, Hoshigake. Mother, that story is not a pleasant one, and I really wish to save this for another time. Perhaps never at all."

"I have an idea."

Sasuke took the clipboard Tsunade had left and took out a blank sheet of paper.

"We're going to make a list of all the events we can think of, okay? And we'll keep it here. Mom closes her eyes and picks one event at a time and we'll cross it off and explain. This way, we don't leave anything out."

The plan worked out successfully. Even Kisame and Naruto contributed to the list as the clipboard was passed around in a square. Sasuke had so many things to tell his mother that his hand shook in confusion.

He looked at the list he had created beneath Itachi's and realized that he barely had any happy even to explain. With reluctance, he wrote down being drunk . . . and being kidnapped . . . and beating up a fellow student . . .

His mother was going to have a cow. And a horse. And a chicken, and a pig, and the whole barn, farm, and country.

"Well, if it helps," Sasuke said as he passed the clipboard to Kisame, "Naruto knows everything about me now."

"Everything?" Mikoto said with a smile, her eyebrows rising with implication.

"Yeah," continued the youngest Uchiha. "And so do I."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

They spent an hour in the hospital, half of the time with Mikoto explaining what had happened after she had woken up and the other half with Sasuke explaining about the Chalk O' Lit Café, the gigs he did, and why he did them.

Naruto was the first to doze off. He practically fell from his chair had Sasuke not noticed his falling head and caught him first. The blond stared blearily at him with a drunken smile and thanked him as he rubbed his eyes. Tsunade shook her head.

"You have school tomorrow," she told him. "Mikoto's going to be here when you get back. Uchiha, you should head home as well. I understand wanting to stay with your mother, but she needs her rest, too."

"I do not!" Mikoto protested from behind lidded eyelids. She rubbed the sleep from her eyes quickly.

Itachi smirked. "I shall drive you home, Naruto. Kisame, kindly push Sasuke from the room. I know he will leave with protest."

Sasuke shook his head and stared at the tired figure of his mother. He knew when to push things too far, but he wanted her to rest. He wanted her to be fully energetic when he came around the next time so that they could talk for hours on end. And so he leaned against her bed for one last time that night.

"I'll be here first thing in the morning tomorrow," he said, getting ready to finally turn around.

"Whoa there, little brother."

Itachi put a hand on his shoulder and stared down at him, his eyes filled with the utmost seriousness.

"You're not going to skip a day of school tomorrow, understand? You have enough absences as it is. Mother needs her rest as well."

Sasuke allowed a twisted frown to make its debut into his expressions, but he did not object. Perhaps he could let her sleep for a few more hours. Then she would be closer to returning home and they could carry out their lives without worry hanging onto their every move.

"Fine," he said quietly.

He stole one last hug from his mother, feeling her lengthened hair tickle his nose. She kissed him of the forehead and rather than pulling away in mock disgust as he always had, he was silent and relished in the long-awaited tenderness.

"I love you, Sasuke," she said to him.

And at last, he could return the statement.

"I love you, too, Mom."

The first thing he did when he walked out of the hospital was jerk his head back to stare at the sable sky, outstretch his arms, and scream without the slightest care in the world,

"She's back!"

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke woke from his own excitement.

The alarm clock had yet to ring. He stared at it, counting down the seconds before swinging off of his bed to enter the shower. The thought of shaving crossed his mind when he saw the annoyance of his teenage stubble across his chin, but he soon found that he could not steady his hand enough to move his razor without cutting off his bottom lip. He was shaking with excitement. The thought of his mother just moments away from him, alive and well, was enough to send him into a walking daze.

Breakfast was already waiting for him out on the table. Sasuke looked expectantly at his waffle, wondering what Itachi had left in the syrup this time. Nothing. A glob of the sticky liquid was drowning the waffle in its center, but there were no words.

Sasuke frowned slightly and sat down to eat. The cherry tomato slices caught his eyes when he went to reach for one minutes later. He smirked and let out a bout of laughter.

_I WAS BORED_ was spelled out using the slices.

_Someone had a lot of time on his hands_, Sasuke agreed as he ate the "I" of the message.

Naruto did not come and so Sasuke went looking – at school. The blond greeted him brightly in Chemistry.

"How're you feeling today?" he asked.

Sasuke could finally say that he felt on top of the world at that very moment. He did not notice Naruto staring at him as class went on. The whiskered boy cocked his head to the side and let a small smile play with his features.

Sasuke looked . . . different, he thought. His complexion was still too white to be humanly possible, and his eyes were still too dark to see beyond, but Naruto found himself seeing a change. A brighter change. The depths of Sasuke's eyes had lightened, no longer filled with a dull sheen that marred his expressions.

Yeah. Naruto thought he looked a lot better today. He hoped he would look the same every day.

"Congrats, Uchiha," Asuma's voice interrupted his thoughts. The older man sat on the desk affront of Sasuke, smirking. "You even managed to beat Lee. That kid's been winning it for Konoha for too long. I was wondering when someone else would be stepping in."

He stood up to greet the other students coming in, but he seemed to remember something and turned around. "Oh yeah, and don't listen to that phooey those kids are going on about, okay? You won fair and square."

"What phooey?" asked Sasuke, raising an eyebrow.

Asuma hesitated. "Nothing."

Nothing meant something. Sasuke would know.

He stood up for a few moments, having three minutes before class would begin, and stood outside in the hallways. He knew whatever the students had to say, they would be whispering it in the hallways to each other. News traveled fast.

_"Of course it was his prosthetic leg. That guy's too weak to do anything."_

Bingo.

_"That handicap just made him win."_

_"It's a super-leg!"_

"They think my prosthetic leg was the reason I won," he told Naruto when he returned to his seat, anger now evident in his expression. Naruto struggled to find the change he had seen in the dark, dark eyes.

"That news will die down, just like last tournament's news did."

_Your mother's here,_ Sasuke tried to tell himself. _Don't ruin your thoughts. Don't spoil the excitement._

Too late.

"But they're going to think I didn't get second place fairly for the rest of their lives."

"Ooh!"

Sakura suddenly stormed in, her eyebrows drawn together as she let out a growl of anger once more and sat down close to Naruto.

"The people here are just such insignificant, good-for-nothing jerks who just make me want to – urgh!"

She broke the poor, unsuspecting pencil in her hands.

Twice.

Her emerald eyes were suddenly turned to Sasuke's. "They don't know how much effort you put into that tournament!"

_Oh._

"It's alright, Sakura," Sasuke told her calmly despite his conscience jumping up and down and agreeing with her every word. "Their opinions don't matter, anyway."

"But they need to know they're _wrong!_"

"Sakura, really. It's okay. Don't worry about it."

But Naruto, watching the conversation with interest, knew Sakura wasn't going to let it go. And he was right.

Sasuke had listened to the same whispers for the first three periods until P.E. finally came along. The boys in the locker room did not bat an eyelash in his direction. They did not care that he ran in the tournament or that he won second place. They were even starting to care less about his prosthetic leg. Akira did not even say anything, nor did he glance in Sasuke's direction.

Lee was going on about the youth, Sai was fixing his belly shirt, Kiba was grumbling about how he wanted to play, Neji was tying his hair, Shikamaru was sleeping, Chouji was munching, and Naruto was being Naruto.

Sasuke wouldn't have it any other way.

He quickly undressed (out of sight, still; he was comfortable with his leg, but he wasn't about to flaunt it) and made it back with minutes to spare. Neji was his target and he aimed to hit it.

"You said you'd tell me about your secrets after the marathon," he said with a hint of mockery. He could see Neji smirk in the mirror he was staring into.

"I said maybe."

"I'll find a way to make you tell me, Hyuuga."

Neji's smirk only widened. He took the hidden challenge of the Uchiha.

Sasuke set his plan into action when the game of Capture the Flag – extreme style – began. Neji and Kiba were sitting out on the sides, watching. Kiba had a disgruntled expression on his face, whining about how he loved playing Capture the Flag.

Sasuke licked his lips and stared at the chaos of screaming boys that had unfolded before his very eyes. He bounced in place for a few moments.

And suddenly, he was running.

"Uchiha, that's suicide!" Kiba shouted at him from the sidelines, to which Shikamaru mumbled, "So troublesome."

Exclamations suddenly erupted around him.

"Get him!"

"Grab him!"

"He's going to get the flag!"

He swerved between every hand, past every finger. It wasn't until the very end did he purposely tilt his body slightly to the left and felt the graze of a palm. Someone yelled triumphantly. A whistle blew.

"I got Uchiha Sasuke! I got Uchiha Sasuke!"

Sasuke smirked.

His plan had worked.

"Such sparkling youth!" Gai screamed. "But not enough! To the sidelines, Uchiha!"

Sasuke walked with his head held high to sit directly next to Neji. The Hyuuga smirked and chuckled darkly.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," he said, amused.

Sasuke smirked as well. "Hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em," he said nonchalantly.

Neji's pale, pale eyes were filled with absolute mirth when they turned to stare at the Uchiha. "You amuse me. I guess you're worth an explanation."

"Oh, I'm worth a lot more than that," Sasuke said cockily, "but I guess an explanation is fine, too."

Kiba rolled his eyes. "You top-of-the-class losers are all confusing," he said before returning his attention to the game.

Neji fell back so that he lay on the mat, staring up at the sun and placing his bandaged leg on Kiba's knee. The latter did not seem to mind; he was too immersed in the game, screaming directions at any passerby. Sasuke sat back, joining the Hyuuga.

"There's nothing to it," Neji said in a quiet, low tone. "Hinata's father, or my uncle, simply does not like me. End of story."

"Why doesn't he like you?" Sasuke asked with too much curiosity to hold back.

"My father and he were twins who owned a single company. You know it, correct?"

Who didn't?

"But my father was the one making the decisions in the company, and Hiashi did not like that. And so he set up his own branch of the company that gradually began to take control."

"To make a long story short, without all the details, it was a matter of business?" Sasuke said when he pieced the hints together. "Your uncle hated your father, so he indirectly hated you."

"Yes. And now that my father has passed away, I am beneath the control of Hiashi for another three months until I turn eighteen. His hatred is very subtle, however. I am not abused, if that is what you think. He simply grounds me for stupid reasons, has me doing a majority of the work, etcetera."

"And your leg?"

"We hosted an argument at the top of the stairs, he pushed me, I pushed him back, he pushed me once more, I simply tripped, and down the stairs I went."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at the Hyuuga's nonchalant, trying not to imagine Neji tumbling down a flight of steps.

"Are you happy now?"

"Not with the knowledge, no." Sasuke frowned, thinking about the source of the hatred and its stupidity. "Why don't you fight back? You know, defy him or something."

"I sneak out of the house to see TenTen on occasion when I am grounded, but sometimes, it is better to be the bigger man than to stoop down to his low level. I am waiting patiently for July 3rd to come and pass and then I shall leave for college close by."

"What about Hinata?"

The game was ending. Sasuke was trying to pry out as many answers as he could. He knew Neji would not be as open to answering questions again.

"Hiashi certainly does not favor her since she has no interest in the business and so he treats her with almost equal dislike, but it is not so bad. She can put up with another year. She has Naruto, after all."

Sasuke smirked at this and ended the conversation. He knew of the crush the female Hyuuga harbored for the blond. If only the blond was not so oblivious.

"Naruto's a special kind of person, isn't he?" he asked out of the blue, not expecting an answer. He got one anyway.

"Special, indeed."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Lunch finally came around. Sasuke's growling stomach told him to spend a dollar on a snack from lunch, but his mother's face in his vision told him to save up as much as he could until their finances turned stable. And so he walked from the P.E. locker room with no intention of heading to the cafeteria.

But there was something odd about the student body. Every single teenage walking by had a newspaper in his or her hands, theirs heads hidden unless they peered over the paper to stare around, stopping when their eyes landed on the Uchiha. Sasuke raised an eyebrow and turned to Naruto for an explanation.

"What are they reading?" he asked, trying to catch the title with little success.

"The school newspaper," replied Naruto.

"We have a school newspaper?"

"Yeah, but everyone usually just takes it home to read. I've never seen people actually walking in the halls like this since Ino's last scoop about Kurenai and Asuma getting engaged. There must be something really interesting."

Naruto disappeared briefly in the crowd of students to grab a newspaper from the stands and returned, sharing it with Sasuke. Their eyes skimmed the front page.

_Trouble at the Marathon? _the title read. Naruto quickly opened to page six as the front page instructed and Sasuke was the first to finish reading the article.

It spoke of the winners: Gaara, Sasuke, and Lee. It explained how Gaara had been training for competitions since he was six years old and that his victories were not merely out of luck. His mother had been a famous track competitor before passing away and Gaara raced in her honor.

It explained how Lee simply raced with the advice of Gai on his side. He harnessed his youth in a sport he loved and he went for it.

And then it explained how Sasuke did not win simply because he had a prosthetic leg.

Sasuke's heartbeat began to increase as his eyes hastily made it across every letter, every word, every sentence. The author explained of his struggle to train for the marathon, of how he had to cope with his own anonymous troubles and a major bruise on his side. Then there was a scientific explanation – a _scientific explanation_ in full detail! – of why having a prosthetic leg should have hindered his chances of winning rather than helping him.

Sasuke's eyes searched desperately for a name.

_By Haruno Sakura._

Why did he suddenly have the urge to run around the entire school looking for her?

He did just that. He left Naruto with the newspaper and burst through the cafeteria, looking for any sign of peculiar pink hair or emerald eyes. She was there, sitting with Ino, TenTen, and Hinata, chatting away happily. He walked to stand behind her.

"Why did you do that?" he asked.

Why were people being so kind to him? They were supposed to be fake. People were supposed to be afraid, and fake, and stupid. So why were the ones he met so nice, and logical, and real?

Sakura turned around. She seemed to know what he meant. She smiled.

"People needed to know," she whispered.

The familiar, unidentifiable feeling returned to bubble in his chest and he stood there awkwardly, words of gratitude trying to force their way past his lips.

"This is the part where you thank her and give her a hug, silly," Ino said from the side, giggling. "Stupid boys and their stupid pride."

Sasuke was not some stupid boy. He did not believe hugging another being did anything to damage pride at all. And so he thanked Sakura. And then he hugged her. Briefly. Ino, TenTen, and even Hinata gave a simultaneous "Aww."

"Any time," Sakura said.

When Sasuke returned to Naruto, his mouth was twitching.

"Smile, Uchiha," the blond said to him. "It won't kill you."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke raced to the hospital the second the school bell rang. He didn't even stop to properly greet Shizune. He simply flashed a smirk, greeted her hastily, and ran away with her laughter echoing in his ears.

Mikoto was awake and lively. She laughed when Sasuke entered and placed her cup of orange juice on the table.

"I'm willing to bet that you ran all the way here," she said, flattening the wild strands of Sasuke's hair.

"Where's Itachi?"

"He stepped out to get something. He should be right over." Mikoto grabbed the list from the other table to her side and looked it over, unsure whether to smile at some events or frown at others. "Now what's this about getting drunk?" she asked. "And _kidnapped?"_

"Close your eyes and pick, mom," Sasuke said, his mood unfazed.

Mikoto pouted.

Sasuke shook his head.

She deepened her pout.

Sasuke was a stone.

"Oh, foofie," Mikoto said at last with a mock huff. "I'm your mother. I'm supposed to be the one in charge."

But she closed her eyes and her slender fingers swept across the paper several times. Sasuke hoped it would land on something nice. Something good. Something jovial.

It landed on the Sound 5.

"Alright," she said. "What is this and what did it do to you?"

Sasuke finally smiled, but it was a sad one. The memories suddenly flooded his mind. He thought he would begin with their first meeting, and possibly make it to the drunk experience he had, and then to Kimimaro.

Good, he thought. It was something nice to begin with. He moved in closer next to his mother and relished in the warmth of her body.

"They're a gang," he said. "And they were out to get me. But not anymore."

He didn't try to think about how for once, everything was fine. He was afraid he'd jinx himself. And so he told himself that everything wasn't fine.

But maybe, just maybe, it could be.

------------------------------------------------------------------

You love me.

I know you do.


	30. Circle of Life

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I would never end it.

**Author's Note:** Once upon a time, there was an author named R.G. Waffles who pleaded for an extra day to write her unofficial last chapter. That very same day, she received a call from her internet company: they had just been bought by a new name. Oh goodie, she thought. And then the internet went screwy for a few days, officially frustrating R.G. Waffles.

Finally, she mustered up the courage to call up the company and scream her lungs out at them.

Then the internet was magically fixed and she updated her story, hoping that the longest chapter would cheer up her readers.

The End.

Oh, and this is random, but did you know "Suna" backwards is "anus"?

**Chapter 30  
**…**:::Circle of Life :::…  
****The Lion King**

_It's the Circle of Life_

_And it moves us all_

_Through despair and hope_

_Through faith and love_

_Till we find our place_

_On the path unwinding_

_In the Circle_

_The Circle of Life_

---------

**WARNING: The end.**

Kakashi was back.

He sauntered in the hospital that was calmly silent for once, his hands deep in his pockets and his back leaning backwards to the point where the laws of balance and all things right seemed to be defied. A tranquil expression graced his face; he wasn't happy, or sad, or angry. He was Hatake Kakashi, with his single lidded eye and his unseen lips quirked into a smiling frown.

Because he was Kakashi like that.

He slid a door quietly to the side, afraid that if he slid it too quickly, the noise would break the tranquility in the air. One face looked up in mild surprise. Two faces were oblivious to the world.

"Hey," he whispered gently, closing the door behind him.

Mikoto smiled slightly. Kakashi did not fail to catch the glimmer of tear tracks on her face. He pulled up a chair beside a sleeping Uchiha Itachi. The dark-haired man was leaning back in his weak plastic chair to the point where the laws of balance were, once again, seemingly defied. A little more pressure on the back of it and the chair would topple over, but the sleeping Uchiha did not seem to notice at all. His lips were parted slightly, his long eyelashes brushing against the top of his cheeks from their closed position.

Kakashi smiled slightly and relished in the sudden tranquility. It was like being high. Everything felt calm. Peaceful. Kakashi vaguely wondered what had been in his food.

The other male Uchiha was bent over his mother's bed, his head laid against his mother's legs. He, too, was asleep. His face took on an expression much like his brother's, parted lips, long eyelashes – although not as long as Itachi's – brushing against his cheekbones. Mikoto was absentmindedly stroking his hair.

"Sasuke's been through a lot," she suddenly whispered, staring down at her son with a sorrowful expression.

"What did he tell you so far?"

Mikoto didn't answer for a while. She continued to stroke Sasuke's hair out of habit, staring pensively before her lips finally parted for an answer.

"He told me all about the Sound 5," she said quietly. "About his . . . attempted suicide. About getting drunk. About getting kidnapped and Orochimaru."

She was choking on her tears; Kakashi could tell. No parent like Mikoto wanted to hear that her son had tried to take his own life.

"Did he tell you about Kimimaro?"

Mikoto let a single sob escape her lips. Kakashi thought that was enough.

"I feel almost guilty," she said, laughing slightly despite the fresh tears running over the tracks of the previous ones. "For leaving them alone for so long."

"It wasn't your fault you fell into a coma," said Kakashi, leaving out the sarcastic mark on his tongue that he saved when dealing with the male Uchihas.

Mikoto smiled. "I know," she said. "But I still feel guilty."

A peaceful silence ensued and Kakashi was in no mood to break it. He stared, almost in a trance-like state, as Mikoto's fingers weaved through Sasuke's silken hair.

"You know," he finally said, reluctantly, "Sasuke's not the only one going through a lot."

He stared pointedly at the other Uchiha. The fluorescent lighting of the room fell upon him in the most unappealing way. Kakashi did not think it was possible for the older beauty to look unattractive, but he stood corrected. The darkness around his eyes that had grown as the nightmares had worsened were inhuman; complete with the sallow skin, it looked like Itachi was really dying.

Or dead.

Kakashi thought he fit the part of a zombie perfectly. Except Itachi had perfect teeth. And better breath. And all flesh intact.

Mikoto nodded in agreement. She had heard tidbits of the life Itachi had tried (and miserably failed) to lead in her absence. She had the urge to reach over and stroke Itachi's hair as well, but he was out of reach and she did not want to wake him.

"He could easily pick up any of those scholarships that had been given to him," she said. "But he just doesn't _want_ to."

"He told me he didn't even know what he wanted to major in."

"That boy."

She stopped stroking Sasuke's hair briefly to stare at Itachi with a new expression in her eyes. Years of experience allowed Kakashi to interpret it as deep, deep admiration.

"He pretends like he doesn't care about anything, yet the only reason he doesn't want to leave for college is so that he doesn't leave his family behind."

Kakashi suddenly wished Konoha had its own college.

Mikoto's eyes suddenly lit up and her hand began to stroke Sasuke's hair with more vigor. "I have an idea," she said excitedly. "I'll get a new job. One that pays more instead of that lame job at the office. It's so _boring_ being a secretary, anyway!"

Not even his mask could hide the smile on Kakashi's face as he listened to the hospitalized woman begin to rant.

"I have a minor in art! I'll just . . . I don't know . . . teach art or something! And I'll have Itachi apply for the college just outside of the town – you know, that one that's forty-five minutes away –"

"Firenial?"

"Yes, yes, that one! And by the time college starts, we'll have a steady amount of money, so he won't have to worry, and he'll fulfill his dream of . . ."

She stopped, her expression saddening.

His dream of what?

What exactly did Uchiha Itachi want to be?

"We'll talk about this with him some other time, Mikoto," Kakashi said, catching both the change in expression and the reason for it. He was too good. "It's getting late. Itachi has work in the morning."

"Is he still working seventeen hours a day?"

Kakashi frowned. He trailed his gaze to the older Uchiha, his therapist's eye absently searching for something unknown.

"What did Itachi tell you about what happened while you were gone?"

Mikoto cocked her head to the side. "Nothing, actually. Why? What happened?"

"That's another story for another day."

He felt a warm hand wrap around his wrist. Mikoto had an expression that even the best of mothers would be jealous of her passion. She shot a fleeting glance at Itachi before her eyes locked firmly onto Kakashi.

"Hatake Kakashi, my son has done drugs," she practically hissed. "And I know nothing of the story. I demand an explanation."

"Uchiha Mikoto," Kakashi mimicked calmly, "you're right. He is your son. And as your son, he is the one entitled to tell you. If it helps, though, he did not take them willingly."

"No, it doesn't help."

She pouted and fell into silence, her hand never ceasing to stroke Sasuke's hair. The youngest Uchiha stirred slightly, but did not wake.

"Would you do me a favor?" asked Mikoto softly. She waited for Kakashi to nod, not immediately giving her request. "Will you take Sasuke and Itachi home? They walked here and now they can barely stand on their feet."

"Not a problem. As long as you wake up Sasuke, though. He'd strangle me if I told him to leave."

Itachi groaned when Kakashi shook his shoulder. He brought his parted lips together and one hand up to rub his hollowed eyes.

"How long have I been asleep?" he asked, all traces of weariness eliminated.

"A few hours," Kakashi commented offhandedly. "But who's counting?"

Sasuke, as expected, did not wake up as easily. He grumbled darkly and simply turned his head to the other side, snuggling right back into the sheets that pooled over his mother's legs. Mikoto allowed a soft chuckle to escape her lips. Kakashi grimaced.

"I'm going to have to pick him up and carry him, aren't I?" he asked unenthusiastically.

When Itachi tried to wake him with the same weak results, he smirked.

"Yes."

Kakashi rolled his eyes and sighed. He was rather pleased with the fact that Sasuke weighed little to nothing as he picked up the sixteen-year-old (that was almost his height) in a bride's carry. Sasuke gave no objection.

They parted from Mikoto and left for the halls. Tsunade passed them on the way. A smirk slid onto her face when she saw Sasuke in Kakashi's arms.

"Your damsel in distress, Hatake?" she could not help but say. She turned to Itachi. "You can pick up Mikoto tomorrow afternoon – and don't worry. There are no checkups. I'll have a list of things to do when you come by."

"We shall be there earlier," said Itachi.

"She can't be dispatched earlier, but her visiting hours aren't restricted." She began to walk briskly away, clipboard in hand and green coat swishing behind her. "Get a good night's sleep, Uchiha. Roadkill looks better than you."

Itachi took it as a compliment and went on his way.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke tried not to get excited the next morning.

When he got excited, things went wrong. When he got hopeful, his hopes shattered. So he tried to get his mind off of the fact that his mother was coming home that day.

Naruto called him early in the morning to ask if Sasuke would like to come to the Chalk O' Lit Café for brunch with their usual group of friends. Knowing his mother would most likely be asleep, Sasuke accepted. It was something to let his thoughts slip away.

The peaceful jazz music soothed Sasuke's mind as he entered through the door of the café. Light poured in through the drawn curtains to grace the empty couches with its presence. Few people littered the café that morning, and Sasuke thought it was perfectly fine that way.

He sat down next to Neji (still bearing his cast and crutches) and listened to the drone of the air conditioning until his ears grew accustomed to it and Ino's chattering came back. His mind did not focus on the conversation (something about overpriced shoes and a suggestive-looking fire alarm at the mall). It did not focus on anything, really. He felt like he was staring at a television screen with the black and white frizz and the incessant _shshshshshshsh_.

He finally decided to join the conversation when the amount of worried glances sent his way increased. His lips managed a slight upturn. By then, the conversation had changed to the murderous series of pop quizzes Jiraiya had suddenly given them last week.

"You probably aced every single one, Uchiha," said Kiba, grinning cheekily. "No need to try and comment."

"Not true," Sasuke retorted. "I got one wrong on the last one."

The group around him suddenly put their hands to their hearts in mock shock simultaneously, their synchronized gasps drawing attention.

"One wrong!"

"Oh no!"

"It's a sign of the apocalypse!"

"Har har," Sasuke laughed sarcastically as laughter erupted around him. "It can't be that shocking."

Temari began setting down their orders. Sasuke wrapped his hands around his scalding tea and brought it closer to him, taking a sip and regretting it immediately. He noticed Kiba staring at him from the corner of his eyes and turned his head in inquiry.

Kiba flashed a small grin, his canines visible nonetheless.

"So can we see that leg of yours up close?"

There was silence amongst the gathered teenagers. They held their breaths, waiting for an answer, or a possible fight to break out. Sasuke was slightly taken aback by the question. But once it sunk in, he smirked.

He wasn't angry that Kiba had asked. Rather, he admired the boy's brash boldness. He took his time answering, taking another sip of his tea despite his protesting tongue. Finally, his answer came:

"No."

Short. Sweet. Simple.

He carried on as if nothing had happened, but his sensitive ears picked up the simultaneous exhales.

He might have grown and changed, he thought, and he might have come to accept the fact that yes, he wasn't about to grow a new leg any time soon, but that did not mean that every aspect of his mind had changed. He was still the boy who was never going to venture near the shorts section in the department store. Never would he show off his prosthetic leg for someone to ogle at.

He was, however, still Uchiha Sasuke: one hell of a cocky son of a gun.

And so he placed his tea back on the table, a few eyes still on him, and crossed his left leg over his right. A glint of his prosthetic leg showed beneath his jeans. Kiba caught it and smirked.

"You freakin' tease."

Sasuke simply smiled wickedly.

"I know."

When the group dispersed, Sasuke found himself making his way to the hospital by foot, cutting through the market place. Naruto was at his side as they maneuvered through the crowd of bodies. Sasuke stopped willingly in front of a rather familiar bakery.

"Saucy! And Naruto!" Izumo greeted the boys fondly.

"Why do I get the lame nickname?" Sasuke pretended to whine as he was ushered inside by an eager Kotetsu. He felt someone's hand ruffle his hair.

"Because we love you more!"

The two bakers sat the boys on chairs in the back, Izumo leaving briefly to tend to a customer. Kotetsu brushed flour from the front of his shirt and took two muffins from the baskets in the back. He handed the first to Naruto.

"A chocolate chip muffin decorated in icing sugar," he said, grinning. He handed Sasuke the other muffin. "An oatmeal raisin muffin, low in sugar, and without the slightest hint of sweetness."

"I worry about your business," Sasuke said, biting into his muffin anyway.

"So where are you heading to now?" asked Izumo as he returned. It was a slow hour with barely any passing customers wanting to indulge themselves in baked goods; they were too busy with their lives.

Sasuke wondered if Itachi had told them the news of their mother in a passing casual conversation. He shrugged the idea off and bit into his muffin again.

"I'm going to go pick up my mom from the hospital," he said as if he spoke of the time. "What about you guys?"

Okay, so Itachi hadn't told them.

Their reactions were widening eyes in unison, breaths taken in and not exhaled until the excitement built in their bodies was ready to burst. It felt like the day Sasuke had first seen them after the first tournament.

"Mikoto is back?!"

They seemed like twins, doing everything in simultaneous synchronization. Sasuke knew they were too good of friends. If he and Naruto started acting like that, however, he might just shoot himself.

"When did she wake up?!"

"Holy cheese and crackers, Uchiha! Stop leaving us in the dark!"

"She totally has to come and visit!"

"Um . . . hello?"

Their moment was ruined by the innocent customer waiting to be tended to. Izumo elbowed Kotetsu in the stomach, telling him it was his turn.

"Jeez, don't these people know it's the slow hour?" ranted Izumo, the deflation of the mood reaching him. "It means they're not _supposed_ to come!"

Sasuke finished his muffin, watching as Izumo unfolded a paper bag and began piling things inside.

"Mikoto loves sweets, right?" he asked, placing in a few cookies. "Are you the only killjoy in your family that doesn't like sweets?"

_No_. Sasuke grimaced.

His mind was returning to a place he hadn't visited in a long, long while. The face of his father showed up; the lack of resemblance in their features was relaxing, but the uncanny similarities – however minor they were – made Sasuke tense suddenly. His father hadn't liked sweets, either. It was these small details that disturbed him.

Naruto noticed his sudden absence in mind and waved a hand in front of his face.

"Whatever you're thinking about," he said as if he just _knew_ which tracks Sasuke's train of thought had taken, "don't. You have to learn to let go of the past."

Sasuke couldn't help the bitter bite of laughter that escaped his lips. _Let go of the past_. There was a gleam in his eyes that worried Naruto and the blond thought a talk as they walked wouldn't be too bad.

Izumo handed Sasuke a paper bag almost filled to its brim. He grinned.

"All of her favorites are in here," he said. "You'd better have her visit, or I'll shave your head."

Naruto smiled at the unusual threat. Sasuke said goodbye to the men, a smirk on his face. When Kotetsu and Izumo had turned around, he quickly slid a five dollar bill onto the counter. There was no way he was leaving without paying this time around.

"So you can't let go of the past, huh?" asked Naruto as they walked along the sidewalk of a silent road. Even the breeze that tousled their hair had suppressed its whistles.

"Are we going to have one of those depressing conversations again?"

Sasuke dug his free hand deep into the pocket of his khaki pants, his other hand clenching tightly around the bag of goods. He didn't want to delve into the conversation to bring back the memories he had finally managed to suppress.

Naruto grinned nonetheless, and Sasuke didn't feel as bad. "It's kind of hard to steer clear of those, you know."

Sasuke sighed.

"You've got a life of luxury," he finally said. "You have a maid, and a driver, and a chef that always seems to be on vacation, and almost everything. I was a mental basket case with almost nothing."

Naruto respected the fact that Sasuke had said "almost everything" rather than simply "everything". He tried to continue the conversation before the traumatic events Sasuke had lived on resurfaced. He knew they would.

"You seem pretty happy nowadays, don't you think?" he asked the Uchiha. "I think that's because you have everything you've ever needed. Not a lot of people are too happy with their families, but you are."

Sasuke stopped at the corner of the street and looked at the blond with an indecipherable expression. "There's no way I can ever let go of the past," he said, a glimpse of a familiar bridge and Kimimaro's face flashing in his mind. "I mean, heck, I've got a battle scar reminding me of everything every time I wake up. But it doesn't look like you can let go, either. You can't forget your dad. Or your mom."

Naruto laughed innocently. Sasuke felt sick. The last conversation he had ever had with Kimimaro was about laughter.

Stupid past.

"Letting go of the past and forgetting people are two completely different things, Sasuke," Naruto finally said, following as Sasuke began to walk again. "I'm not asking you to forget the important people you've lost in your life. Was your dad important to you?"

_Never._

He was a figure. Simply a figure. A bad, bad memory that he wanted to blink out of existence. Naruto took his silence as an obvious answer.

"Shut out the people that hurt you, Sasuke," Naruto whispered to him. "It'll take some time."

The hospital came into view. Sasuke tried his hand at suppressing the memories, but they spilled over anyway. He was strong enough now not to submit to the pain that came with them, but they were still vivid. They were burned into his mind. Scars. And scars never left.

"You're an idiot," he breathed out, but he smirked to lighten the mood. "I was wondering when Kakashi's therapist powers would finally stop rubbing off on everyone."

They were closer to the hospital now.

"I need someone that knows how to handle a trauma patient, Naruto," he continued. "Kakashi is a good therapist because he's been there, done that. His mother was killed right before his eyes when he was nine by an ambush meant for his dad. His dad died saving his friends from the same men who ambushed his mother. Your advice is good, but you're too innocent."

He noticed Naruto's deflated stance. One of his hands went to awkwardly pat the blonde's shoulder and he stopped him before they could enter the hospital. The corners of his mouth were twitching again.

"But it's a good innocence," Sasuke tried to comfort. "It's what makes you Uzumaki Naruto, that bright bubble of sunshine that's ready to listen to anyone and help out when he can. You're so damn optimistic even when you don't have everything."

Naruto grinned and wiped quickly at his eyes with the back of his hand.

"You don't have any traumatic feelings even though your dad . . ."

_Was murdered, _he finished in his mind, and he knew by the falter in Naruto's grin that the blond finished with the same words.

"Please keep that innocence," he said.

He'd miss that smile if it was ever gone.

"Now stop being a sensitive baby and let's go pick up my mother."

Naruto punched him lightly in the shoulder, his eyes red but his cheeks dry. He laughed. Sasuke had the sudden urge to go around Konoha with a tape recorder to record everyone's laughter. If everyone had a strange fetish, his was an addiction to laughter.

"Then stop being a sap," retorted Naruto. "Hey, Shizune."

The woman behind the counter smiled at them warmly. "Hello, boys. Itachi and Kisame are already here. Feel free to go on inside."

Sasuke thanked her out of habit and made his way to his mother's room. He poked his head inside, finding the room already filled with occupants. Tsunade was sitting in the corner of the room, scribbling quickly on her clipboard. Itachi and Kisame sat at the side of Mikoto's bed making light conversation with the woman.

Sasuke smiled at his mother.

She sat on the bed, her legs dangling over the side and her arms bracing her on the mattress. She wore a sundress that Sasuke had never seen before. It was a simple dress: light, pastel orange in color with no designs except the decorative stitching around the collar that showed off her collarbones and the sash that allowed the dress to hug her waist snugly.

There was an empty box filled with tissue paper and branded with the logo of the department store Itachi worked at. Sasuke stole a glance at his brother and suddenly knew where the dress had come from.

Naruto smiled at Sasuke for a few moments, looking at the smile that adorned the Uchihas face. He wondered if Sasuke realized how easy it was for him to smile when it came to his mother.

"Oh, now we can party!" exclaimed Mikoto when her final son entered the room. She outstretched her arms expectantly for a hug.

"Define 'party'," Naruto said with grin, getting a hug as well.

"Bubbly Blondie and Bitter Brunette!" Kisame exclaimed upon their arrival, his pointed teeth gleaming.

Sasuke grumbled. He was having too many nicknames nowadays. His favorite nickname was "Hey, kid, move!"

Tsunade stood up sharply and ripped the paper from her clipboard, handing it to Itachi. "She shouldn't be on her feet for another four days, understood? Where the hell is Hatake? I told him to come over."

"Relax, Lady Tsunade," Itachi said with a smirk. "I shall inform him of his duties when he is present later."

Tsunade ran a hand through her hair. "I want Miki to get healthy as soon as possible. If that man even dares to shirk his duties of physical therapy, tell me so I can have him kicked out of my town."

She turned to Mikoto. "You've got a small list of medication to take so you can match Sasuke over here. And don't even _think_ about work for the next week, understand? I love you, but I can have you kicked out of my town, too."

"Then I'll go live with Kakashi and we can make our own town," Mikoto said jokingly.

"Oh, ew," said Naruto, taking it the wrong way.

There was laughter in the room. Where was a tape recorder when Sasuke needed one?

After more light conversation that followed laughter (_Tape recorder! Tape recorder!)_, the Uchihas were finally able to leave the hospital. Naruto stayed with his grandmother out of respect for the Uchiha family; he was sure that if his mother would finally be able to come home, he would have wanted no one else around, best friend or not.

Kisame left as well with a promise to be back to annoy them another time. He had work to tend to, and a desperate Deidara had called him yet again with another insane problem. There was a rabid chimp attacking the office supply closet.

Sasuke sat next to his mother in the back as Itachi drove. Mikoto slid a piece of paper from her bag of medication and unfolded it. It was the list of events Sasuke, Itachi, Kisame, and Naruto had made during one of their visits.

She didn't say anything for a while. Sasuke looked at her, trying to decipher what she was thinking. But she was an Uchiha. It was in their genes to be good at masking their inner thoughts and feelings whenever necessary, male or female.

Finally, when Itachi pulled into the parking lot of their apartment building and cut the engine, Mikoto took action. She reached over and pulled the keys from the ignition before Itachi could and locked all of the doors.

"Okay," she said, her expression neutral. "Neither of you are leaving until I get an explanation as to why you, young man," she lightly slapped Itachi's shoulder, "took drugs. The only thing you wrote on this list was 'see Sasuke' and I didn't find that very funny."

"Mother," Itachi said rather calmly, a hint of amusement in his tone at his mother's persistence, "as I have told you time and time again, there must be a proper time to discuss such an unpleasant story. I do not wish for you to come to the hospital to such a story. May I please have the keys back?"

"Then at least tell me why you cut your precious hair!"

Mikoto ran her fingers through her son's shortened locks, one of her hands curling around a ponytail that no longer existed.

"Sasuke," Itachi said quietly, the tone of amusement gone. "Please be so kind as to open the trunk when mother returns the keys and wheel her up to the house. I shall prepare her room."

He said nothing more. He reached over to his door, pulled the lock up, stepped outside, and closed the door behind him, walking away.

Mikoto, slightly crushed, looked to her other son for an explanation.

"His hair has to do with the drug story," whispered Sasuke. "Can I have the keys, please? Don't worry about it too much. He didn't want to tell me the story for a while, either."

Frowning, Mikoto finally handed over the keys and waited for Sasuke to unfold the wheelchair before she eased herself out of the car.

"Is it really that bad?" she asked, slightly dejected. She smoothed out the wrinkles on her sundress.

Sasuke began to wheel her to the elevator. "Not as bad as me getting drunk or getting kidnapped, but pretty bad for Itachi."

Despite not deliberately, the mood of Mikoto's return had deflated slightly. The rest of the trip to the apartment was taken in silence. Sasuke wheeled his mother through the open door to see Itachi unlocking the room they had kept closed off for a while.

It was finally opened now. It had been untouched. Unchanged. The portraits that hung on the walls were still perfectly straight. The bed sheets were still unwrinkled and wrapped tightly around the mattress, flower-printed and orange.

Sasuke had grown to like the color.

"Please tell me you dusted," said Mikoto, laughing lightly. "You boys haven't touched _anything_?"

"It's like you were never gone," Sasuke replied. He watched Itachi pick up their mother and place her gently on the bed despite her protests. Indeed, it was what he told himself. Tampering and altering anything in Mikoto's room would be like tampering with her memory. He left the room unchanged because he knew that was the way she had left it: perfect.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

That night, Itachi had never felt so young.

He could not sleep. The hours passed and his mind could not cease its incessant switching between the memories of the men at the bar and the face of his mother. After what seemed like eternity, Itachi finally stood up and ventured outside of his room in his boxer shorts.

Mikoto hated to close her door. Even when there was no light pooling in, she still hated feeling caged, and so Itachi had no trouble sneaking in. He stood hovering above his mother's figure for a few moments, wondering what to do.

Mikoto was awake, too.

She opened her eyes and blinked against the darkness. When the outline of her eldest son came into her vision, she smiled softly.

"Can't sleep?" she whispered.

"I can say the same for you," he simply whispered in reply.

He sat down on the floor beside her bed, bringing his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around them as he looked up at his mother. The position was unfamiliar.

Mikoto rolled onto her side and propped her head up with one hand. She raised her eyebrows in questioning; she couldn't lift a single eyebrow like her sons. Silence. She waited.

Itachi rested his head on his knees, struggling – struggling at last – to find the words to say. He felt like he was six, when he used to sneak into his parents' room with troubles from school. Fugaku always kicked him out.

_"Deal with your troubles on your own,"_ he said every time. _"It is weak to come for advice. You must figure out what to do on your own or you will never succeed."_

So Mikoto used to sneak into Itachi's room and sit at his bedside, and stroke his hair, and whisper her advice to him as she listened to his troubles.

Itachi finally raised his head, grasping his knees closer to his chest.

"I was fired from my job at the bar," he began, the words tumbling from his mouth in a flurry of words. He couldn't stop himself. He wanted so badly to be six again. So badly. "I was passing out too much. I was absent too much. My boss said I had become a hindrance, and so I desperately needed a second job. There was a bar downtown . . ."

Mikoto listened to his story like she had always listened when her son had been younger. She was silent, not interrupting despite the development of the story forcing her heartbeat faster, faster, faster.

"They held me down," Itachi continued, deep into his story by that point, his words still stumbling and tumbling out. "Right above the cocaine. I tried to breathe slowly, but they blocked my nose and mouth and so when they let go, I could not – I did not know – I breathed it right in –"

Mikoto had had enough of her silence. She flung her hands over her son's shoulders, half of her body on his and the other half slowly sliding off of the bed until she knelt by him, her face buried in the crook of his neck as she pulled him close to her body.

"And they did it again," Itachi said, unfazed and unmoving. "They got me to snort the rest of it –"

"Itachi, _stop!_"

Itachi had been at the end of his story, anyway. He stayed still, feeling the warmth of his mother's arms around his neck and her hands running through his hair tenderly. He missed the feeling. He missed the feeling _so badly._

"I'm so sorry," Mikoto cried into his neck.

Itachi didn't understand why he was sorry. He focused on the wetness spreading on the skin of his neck where his mother had pressed her eyes. She was crying. He hadn't meant to do that.

"Stop crying," he told her.

His arms were still unmoving at his side, but he brought them up awkwardly to finish the embrace. He could not remember the last time he had been in such a position.

He missed it.

He wanted to be six again. Not twenty-one. He hated being twenty-one. He had to think about things. He couldn't simply run to his mother with his problems anymore, hoping she had a solution. There were decisions needed to be made. He had to think about his _future._ About the rest of his _life._

He hated it.

When he was six, the only thing he had to worry about was whether or not his ice cream would melt before he got home, or whether or not newborn Sasuke had hurt himself trying to get out of his crib. He was oblivious to the world, and he loved it that way.

Being twenty-one, he had to face reality with open eyes.

"Please stop," Mikoto whispered into his ear, still stroking his hair, her tears silent. "Please."

So Itachi stopped.

"I missed you so much," he said for the thousandth time since his mother had awoken. He squeezed tighter.

With his mother, he could be human. He didn't have to be Indifferent Itachi. He didn't have to be twenty-one years old.

That night, he could finally be six again.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sunday afternoon.

Kakashi sat on the couch with Mikoto, Itachi, and Kisame. Naruto and Sasuke were in the kitchen preparing making a large dinner for the group (or Sasuke was making dinner and Naruto was trying).

"So what are you going to do?" the silver-haired man asked Itachi, one hand slung across the back of the couch.

"I'm going to still search for another job," replied Itachi. "Sasuke's tournament earnings have given us an amazing head start with our finances and I want to build up on that."

Mikoto frowned. "Itachi, what do you want to be?" she asked softly. "When you applied for college, what did you want to do?"

Back to the same conversation.

"I . . . do not know," Itachi replied like he'd answered Kakashi when they had brought up the conversation before.

"You love art. I mean, hell, Itachi! Look at the paintings in your house!" said Kisame.

Itachi shook his head. "I do not want to work with art. I want to keep it a hobby, or else I will not enjoy it as much as I do now."

Or else he'd lose his best escape.

He hesitated for a moment, thinking about something that had been nagging him for a while. Perhaps . . .

"Perhaps . . ."

"Say whatever, Itachi, and we can build off of that," Kakashi assured.

"I was thinking of studying to . . . become a doctor."

Silence.

Kisame was the first to break it, standing up excitedly. "That is the _best_ idea you've had yet, you braniac! A doctor! That's _perfect!"_

"You can get a paid internship at the hospital here while you finish your degree instead of waiting for seven years to begin," continued Kakashi quickly, unable to contain his own excitement. "And you won't have to leave your family while you study. Mikoto was just telling me of how you can apply to Firenial, unless you want to head to a top college –"

"No top colleges."

What did he care about what his resume would look like? It was only when his father was around was he pressured to enter an Ivy League College.

"But I cannot simply leave for college –"

"By the time college starts, we would've collected a steady amount of money."

It was Sasuke that had joined the conversation as he left Naruto by the stove. He stood behind Itachi.

"And you can live on the campus, so you won't have to worry about money for food or anything. Mom will work, and I'll get a decent job –"

"I am not living on the campus, Sasuke," Itachi interjected.

The eldest Uchiha was shot confused glances from every pair of eyes other than his own (and the occupied Naruto).

"Firenial is only forty-five minutes away," he explained. "If I schedule my courses correctly, I should be able to leave in the morning and come back when you leave school. I do not have to leave our house."

_Yes, yes, yes!_ Sasuke's conscience screamed.

"But if you live on the campus, it'll be so much easier for you to get around and eat . . ."

_Please have an excuse. Please say you'll stay. Please, please, please . . ._

"I am not leaving this house, Sasuke."

Kakashi stared as the Uchihas and Kisame continued their exchange of conversation. He knew that such plans could not have been put into action in the conditions the Uchihas had been living in before; Sasuke was not as stable back then. He was not as independent. Itachi had been afraid to leave him, and the elder Uchiha had also needed to help with the income.

Now, Sasuke had changed. Now, they had a strong basis of money.

Now, Uchiha Itachi could finally, _finally_ go to college.

"You'll be a great doctor," commented Kakashi. "Go find a cure for cancer or something."

Sasuke sat down. The world was spinning back into its normal rotation and he was getting lightheaded.

Was it real?

Was he really in reality? Cold, harsh reality? If so, where was the harshness? Where were the tears and the broken hopes and shattered dreams? Why was everything turning out fine?

What was the catch?

"Hey, hey, hey!" came Naruto's panicked voice from the kitchen. "How do you turn the stove off?! The water's overflowing!"

Sasuke frowned and rubbed his chin and sat there, thinking as Kisame, Kakashi, and Itachi ran into the kitchen to aid the distressed blond.

No, no . . . that wasn't the catch.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Monday came along and Sasuke had entered a routine that he didn't mind so much. He woke up to his mother's voice.

"Come on, Sasuke. Breakfast is ready."

Nope. Sasuke was still not a morning person. He rolled over and swat at his mother's hand, grumbling.

"I'll bring in Kisame."

"Oh, please no!"

Sasuke bolted upright, remembering the last time Kisame had come into his room. His wide eyes stared around for any sight of blue.

None.

He breathed a sigh of relief as his mother let out soft fits of laughter. She was still in her wheelchair and, for that matter, her nightgown.

"Get ready and dressed for school, honey," she said as she began to wheel herself out. "And hurry up, or I'll send Kisame into the shower with you."

Sasuke grumbled in reply.

"And Sasuke? Shave. You're a handsome young man, but a goatee doesn't suit you."

Grumble. Grumble.

Kisame was at the dining table. He had stayed the night, sleeping on the couch without the slightest care. Now he was brightly telling Mikoto about last night's work epidemic.

"Nobody knew how the chimp got there!" he exclaimed before guzzling down an entire glass of orange juice. "It's like we live next to a zoo or something! We keep getting these random animals showing up. Boss is furious. Thank the fishes one of our coworkers is an animal tamer. Total coincidence, right?"

Sasuke sat down and pulled the nearest plate next to him, his hair still dripping from his shower, his mind still groggy, and his face cleanly shaved. Kisame patted him on the back roughly.

"'Morning, Princess," he said.

Grumble, grumble.

Kisame stood and ruffled his soaking hair, laughing slightly. "Thanks for the hospitality, Miki," he said. "I've got to get home and feed my fish." He ruffled Sasuke's hair again, spraying droplets of water everywhere. "See you around, kiddo."

"See you, Kisame."

"Take care, Kissy-face."

Mikoto turned to her son when Kisame left, never having been a fan of silence. "Any plans for today, honey?"

Silence.

Sasuke thought. He frowned. Yeah. He had plans. Big plans.

He would visit Kimimaro's grave today.

He hadn't visited the boy's grave since he had passed away despite his promise to do so. His conscience also told him to stop and speak with Tayuya, and he knew why.

"Mom," he spoke at last. "You don't have a doctor's appointment or anything this afternoon, do you?"

"I'm free. Do you need anything?"

"Do you want to come with me this afternoon? . . . I'm going to visit him."

Mikoto was silent for a while, thinking about who Sasuke could possibly be speaking of. Her eyes softened when she realized he planned to visit Kimimaro's grave.

"I'd love to go," she said softly, cupping her son's face with her hand.

Sasuke, not used to such tender care, pulled back slightly before submitting to the touch. He nodded his head and pulled away at last to take a bite of his toaster waffle.

_They never get old._

"Are you going to be all right alone?" he asked when he had finished breakfast. He slid on his sneakers and turned back.

Mikoto waved the sentence off and smiled. "I'll be fine," she assured him. "Come by and pick me up when you're ready, okay?"

Sasuke left, content.

School was . . . school. It had not become a haven overnight. It had not cleaned up, or cleansed itself of its rotten students. It was school. If there was anything the good of mankind could not fight, it was hormonal teenagers crammed into a single building for give or take seven hours, five days a week.

Sakura's article in the school newspaper had turned heads and turned on whispers, but not everyone had been fazed. Those who enjoyed malice had toned down their snide comments to hurried whispers. Those who had been moved were silent. And those who simply did not care continued to simply not care.

But nothing much had changed. Sasuke admired Sakura and thanked her greatly, but she was still Sakura. One person. She had tried her best to change the minds of others and may have converted a few, but reality was reality. Sasuke wasn't expecting people to start jumping out at him to be his friend. Life wasn't a fairytale. Or a high school musical.

"Hey, spacey," a voice suddenly said to him, and a tanned hand appeared in front of his face. "Hello? English is this way."

Oh. He'd been zoning out. The chatter of the students suddenly returned to his ears and he blinked, following the concerned head of blond. Naruto's voice had sounded nasally. Sasuke turned the whiskered boy around in English and brought a hand to his forehead without a word.

Naruto pulled away, laughing nervously. "Yeah," he said. "I've got a cold. Sue me."

Lunch had yet again lost its meaning to the Uchiha when it came around after a long-winding series of classes that morning. He sat in the cafeteria, the deafening chatter of students blending into a meaningless drone. Naruto offered him half of his sandwich; Sasuke turned down the offer, unsure of the ingredients that had been molded together between two slices of bread.

Itachi was going to college – _finally_ going to college – and Sasuke did not want to screw up his chances. They needed to build up all the money they could gather. College preparations did not come cheap after all.

"Why the heck are you so spaced out today, man?" Kiba exclaimed with a short laugh. "You were totally gone during basketball second period."

Sasuke smirked. Naruto thought it looked more like the closest thing to a grin the Uchiha had ever given.

"It's just that a lot of good things are happening, so I'm thinking about them," he said innocently.

_And wondering what the catch is._

_Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick . . . tock . . . T-t-tick . . ._

"Move . . .!"

Sasuke groaned and hit his head softly against his desk a few times. The clock above Iruka's desk wasn't moving. The batteries must have died, he thought. Or someone must have glued the hands in place. He didn't believe time could possibly be moving _so slowly_. Naruto was asleep at his side, his breaths hitching from the combination of a cold and his asthma.

A part of Sasuke didn't want class to be over. That part was worried about visiting Kimimaro's grave with his mother. Would he break down? He told himself he wouldn't, but his mind had a reputation of instinctively going back on its word.

The Sound 5 had been absent periodically over the past few weeks. Sometimes Tayuya would be there with Jirobo, or Sakon (Ukon) by himself, or Kidomaru. Sometimes none of them would show up at all. No one seemed to notice, and Sasuke tried not to think about the idea that no one seemed to care.

At last, the bell rang. Sasuke leaned over to shake Naruto awake, telling him to go home and sleep.

"Nah, I'm going to the café," the blond replied with a broad grin. "Want to come?"

"Maybe later. I've got things to do."

"Sure thing, Sasuke." Naruto smacked him on the back lightly and stood up, wobbling. "I'll see you around."

Sasuke replied and stood when Naruto had left, saying goodbye to the rest of his friends – _his_ friends – before he left the school. He had gotten to the end of the walkway before a hand came down upon his shoulder.

"Do you want a ride?"

Kakashi stared back at him, his tie loosened and his dress shirt untucked from his jeans. Sasuke blinked at him and cocked his head to the side.

"No, thanks," he said. "I'm just –"

"I'd like it if you took a ride."

Unsure of the man's intentions, Sasuke followed to the Jeep® he was used to being acquainted with and opened the door to the passenger's side.

"Where to?" asked Kakashi as he put his car in reverse.

"Yamanaka Flower Shop."

"Okay."

And then silence. Sasuke didn't understand why Kakashi had given him a ride if he was going to remain silent on the trip. He stared out the window, back to Kakashi, out the window again, and finally locked his eyes on the silver-haired man who had taken to humming to himself.

"What?" Sasuke said bluntly.

"How was your day?" asked Kakashi rather cheerily, not turning around to look at Sasuke. "How are you feeling?"

"A therapy lesson?"

"Oh, come on, Sasuke." Kakashi finally sent a quick glance in his direction. "Every conversation we have doesn't necessarily mean it's a therapy lesson. I just want to know how you're adjusting."

"Well."

"Good, good. We're getting somewhere. Now how are things in school?"

"Well."

"Okay. What's the color of the sky?"

Sasuke turned and gave Kakashi a pointed look. Kakashi sighed.

"Are you getting more flowers for Kimimaro?" he asked, his tone neutral now. "I don't suppose you'd be getting them for a girlfriend."

"I'm heading over to his grave. The store's right over here, Kakashi."

Kakashi parked his car at the corner of the street and turned in his seat so that his entire upper body was facing his student. "How do you feel about the way things are going now?" he asked seriously. "Too fast? Too sudden?"

"Too good," Sasuke replied instead. "Everything's going great, Kakashi. That means something bad is going to happen."

"Something bad might happen," Kakashi agreed.

Sasuke stared at him strangely. "You're my therapist! You're not supposed to agree! You're supposed to tell me that nothing bad is going to go wrong and that everything will be better from now on."

"I'm being your friend right now, and I feel I have a duty to not treat you like an oblivious idiot. You know reality well, Sasuke. And sure, something bad might happen, but you can't have a perfect life. There are no happy endings." Kakashi leaned against his steering wheel. "There are only happy moments."

Sasuke smirked. "Cinderella is _so_ overrated," he joked. "I bet she got divorced right after the story."

"See?"

Kakashi laughed slightly and reached over to ruffle Sasuke's hair. The Uchiha vaguely wondered what it was with the men he knew and ruffling his hair.

"Go rule the world or something. I'll be by later."

Sasuke's smirk widened. "I'll try."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Sasuke now stood affront of the Sound 5's door, one hand holding an envelope and the other holding a miniature bouquet of flowers. His mother, having picked her up already, sat in her wheelchair at the end of the walkway in silent patience.

He felt strange. He had realized the plain routine his life had fallen into when he was browsing for flowers. Mikoto waking up was the best thing to happen to the broken Uchiha family since toaster waffles, but Sasuke could not help but miss the drama.

His thoughts were cut short by the opening of the door. Kidomaru appeared. He took in the sight of the Uchiha before he leaned against the frame, crossing his bare arms over his chest.

"Hey," he said simply.

"How are you?"

Small talk.

"Fine. Come on in."

Sasuke shook his head. "I'm just here for a few moments. Is Tayuya here?"

Kidomaru nodded his head and left briefly to summon his comrade. She appeared, her hair disheveled and a grimace evident on her face. Her grimace softened when her eyes fell upon the Uchiha.

"What's wrong?" asked Sasuke.

"Fuck if I know. I've been throwing up all morning."

Sasuke's eyes trailed to her stomach at the finally prominent protrusion of her belly. Without a moment's hesitation, he handed her the envelope in his hand to distract himself.

"I made a deal," was all he offered as an explanation. He waited for her to open the envelope. Her eyes widened.

"Uchiha, this is five hundred dollars."

"Yeah, I'm sorry I couldn't give you the full one thousand. I only got two thousand five hundred dollars for second place."

"Uchiha, this is five hundred dollars," repeated Tayuya. She shook the envelope. "Are you fucking insane?"

Sasuke frowned. "I don't think so."

"Uchiha, this is –!"

"Five hundred dollars," Sasuke finished for her. "Yes, I think we've established that. Just do me a favor and take it, okay? We made a deal, and you guys need a major push forwards."

"We only needed the money for Kimimaro's operation," Tayuya retorted quickly.

"I know. Look, just take it, okay? Don't argue. I don't need it, and you don't have to pay me back at all."

Sasuke did not turn to leave. He waited for an official end to the conversation. Tayuya looked back at the money, a bitter smirk toying with her lips.

"You're a crazy fucker," she told him. "Are you sure you'll be okay? I heard about a few things here and there."

She looked over his shoulder to stare at Mikoto. The female Uchiha caught her eyes and waved tentatively, a small smile on her lips. Tayuya waved right back to humor herself. Sasuke looked back at his mother, smiled, and turned to Tayuya.

"Yeah, I'll be okay," he concluded. "Besides, seven months from now, you'll be thanking me."

"Cocky asshole."

Sasuke gave a mocking smirk in reply and turned around to leave. Tayuya grabbed hold of his arm and held him back for a few moments.

"You're too good to be true, Sasuke," she said, using his first name. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. And I'll see you around."

He hopped from the steps and returned to his mother. Tayuya leaned against the frame much like Kidomaru had done and waved subtly.

"Tell Kimimaro I say hi!" she exclaimed before Sasuke could leave her sight.

Sasuke wheeled his mother away. Mikoto held the bouquet of flowers for him as the two walked slowly along the sidewalk, the wind whistling calmly past their ears every now and then. Sasuke could even hear the twinkle of his mother's earrings as the wind danced with them.

"So I finally got to see Tayuya," Mikoto commented softly. "She seems nice."

"She is, in a way," Sasuke commented offhandedly. "She's kind of like Itachi, pretending she doesn't care when she does, you know?"

He turned the corner and continued to walk in silence. Mikoto played absently with the petals of one of the flowers. They were Jade Dendrobiums again. Sasuke didn't think he would ever buy something different.

The graveyard was coming up. The iron gates and lush field of green came into his vision and he stared in, his eyes traveling up and down the rows of gravestones. All of these people had died in Konoha. All of them. So many.

He pushed open the towering gate and held it open as Mikoto wheeled herself in. The sight of the graveyard was the least bit morbid. The grass was bright and well kept, lush and beautiful beneath the afternoon sun. Flowers after flowers decorated the dull gray gravestones, sometimes accompanied with picture frames or presents.

Sasuke pushed his mother to where Tayuya had said Kimimaro's gravestone was: fourth row, seventh column. He found it and smiled sadly to himself. It was a small gravestone, Kimimaro's name engraved decoratively in the middle. Sasuke finally let go of his mother's wheelchair to move closer to the stone and kneel beside it.

Mikoto silently handed him the bouquet of flowers and Sasuke gently laid it down beside the other flowers. The Sound 5 (_Still 5. Still 5.)_ had taken the time to lavish the stone with, he smirked, Jade Dendrobiums of their own.

Sasuke smiled suddenly.

He leaned in closer and reached out to brush his fingers over something written on the gravestone. It was crudely etched in, as if it hadn't originally been on the gravestone and someone had come by with a key or something strong and sharp to write it:

_Falling Up to Heaven._

He paused, his fingers still hovering over it, the sad smile disappearing from his face. He was deep in thought.

Who was he?

If he died, what would be written upon his gravestone?

Uchiha Sasuke, the prodigy. Uchiha Sasuke, the pathetic failure. Uchiha Sasuke, that kid in third period with the prosthetic leg.

Who _was_ he?

He had been a genius. Top of the class, almost flawless marks, with beauty, brains, and brawn. But to his father, he had been a failure. Not good enough. Pathetic. And so he turned into the pitiful basket case with a prosthetic limb and no future ahead of him.

Now?

Now, he was a normal resident of Konoha with a second place medal and a group of real friends. And Naruto. Now, he had a real family, with a real life, living in actual reality. His prosthetic leg was nothing but a memory, no longer a hindrance. Just a battle scar to remind him that he had gone down fighting.

He still believed there was a catch to the lack of drama in his life, but it did not faze him. He was going to live on and deal with it like he had dealt with the past sixteen years of his life. Keep moving forward.

Who was he?

He wasn't Uchiha Sasuke, the prodigy, or Uchiha Sasuke, the pathetic failure, or even Uchiha Sasuke, that kid in third period with the prosthetic leg.

He was Uchiha Sasuke.

Just Uchiha Sasuke.

His eyes focused on Kimimaro's name etched into the stone.

"Hey," he whispered, brushing his fingers against the curve of the gravestone. "How is it in Heaven? Tayuya says hi, by the way, but you probably know that already."

Mikoto watched her son carry on his conversation with the stone, a sad smile in her expression. She saw Sasuke lean in closer with a new gleam in his eyes.

"You know," Sasuke was concluding, "I never got to tell you another monotonous joke, so I've got one for you." He forced the smile off of his face. "Knock knock."

_Who's there?_

"Did you ever hear the joke about the broken pencil?"

_Did you ever hear the joke about he broken pencil who?_

"Never mind. It's pointless."

Silence.

Sasuke heard laughter. He turned around to see his mother with her hand over her mouth, trying to stifle the soft laughter that came from deep inside of her. He smiled at her. Somewhere in his mind, he could hear Kimimaro laughing, too.

Finally, he stood up.

"I'll be back," he promised Kimimaro. "Have fun."

His oddly steady hands clasped the handles of his mother's wheelchair and he began to wheel her away, away, away from Kimimaro's grave.

_Beep-beep!_

The honk of the horn caught his attention and he looked up, trying to look between the bars of the fence that surrounded the graveyard. Itachi was there, stepping out of the car and onto the sidewalk.

"Sorry to interrupt," he said when Sasuke and Mikoto had neared.

Sasuke waved him off. "I was finished. Why are you here?"

"Naruto's in the hospital."

Okay, what?

"He had a particularly strong asthma attack. It's nothing serious, though. I thought you might want to see him."

Sasuke knew he should be worried. He knew he shouldn't have let the smirk slide onto his face, but it did, and he couldn't stop it. Was this the catch? Naruto in the hospital with a minor diagnosis?

Sasuke knew that the drama in his life wouldn't end. If all else failed, and everyone else calmed and settled, Naruto would always be the source of his drama.

"Thanks," he told his brother as he let Itachi take hold of his mother's wheelchair.

He smirked, imagining Naruto whining about staying in place. Sakura would probably be there; Sasuke wanted to thank her again. And again. Kiba would definitely be there, and had most likely been there at the time of the attack. Even Sai – awkward, awkward Sai – would be there, and Sasuke could imagine his gift: a bowl of ramen with a giant rock in the middle.

_You rock my ramen._

Sasuke had to get better jokes.

He watched him gently lift Mikoto and place her into the backseat of the car before he began to work on folding the wheelchair. There was an absence of color in his brother's attire and Sasuke cocked his head to the side in thought.

Wait a minute . . .

"Hey."

Itachi stopped moving and turned around in questioning. Sasuke smirked.

"Wheelchair, check?"

Itachi blinked.

Once.

Twice.

And then, he let out a single bout of laughter and carried on putting the wheelchair into the back of the trunk. When he slammed the trunk closed, he turned to Sasuke.

"Check."

"Mother Uchiha, check?"

Itachi leaned over the open door and looked down at their confused mother, smirking.

"Check."

"Boogeyman-repellant headgear, check?"

Sasuke heard his mother laugh at the sudden realization, the beautiful chime reverberating in his ear as he turned to stare at his brother expectantly. Itachi reached into the inside pocket of his summer vest and pulled out his one and only neon-orange bowl hat. Sasuke smirked and watched him fix it over his shortened hair.

Sasuke thought that with Boogeyman-repellant headgear, they could handle anything.

_"There are no happy endings. There are only happy moments."_

Itachi turned to Sasuke.

"Check."

_Another turning point, a fork stuck in the road._

_Time grabs you by the wrist, directs you where to go._

_So make the best of this test, and don't ask why._

_It's not a question, but a lesson learned in time._

_It's something unpredictable_

_but in the end it's right._

_I hope you had the time of your life._

_~ Green Day – "Time of your Life"_

_----------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_-_

That's it.

That's the ending. Can you believe it? The ending. That's it. That's it. I can't really believe it.

Am I going to give you a rather extensive, sappy, heart-filled author's note?

Nope. Not here.

There's still a bonus chapter to come on Sunday, and I hope you all check it out. That's also where my heart-filled author's note will be placed if anyone wants to read it.

Can you believe it?

That's it.

------------

**For those of you who reviewed my Author's Note chapter, I have been tipped that you might not be able to review this chapter. If that is the case, and you are itching to review, then you may either log out and leave an anonymous review with your real name (so I can reply) or you can wait until the bonus chapter.**


	31. Bonus Chapter: Because I Got High

**Disclaimer:** If I owned Naruto . . . I wouldn't be ending this.

**Author's Note:** Well, I slacked a bit on the update, didn't I? No excuses this time around, ladies and gentlemen. This is what happens when you don't finish a story before you post it up on .

Here is the bonus chapter! I have a lot to say!

During the breaks in the chapter, there will be little extra sections. You'll see what I mean. I just thought they were interesting to put in there.

And a major apology to **purvysage** for being unable to use her incredible idea about writing a short story from the beanbag chairs' perspectives!

See if you can spot the subtle changes in Sasuke.

**Bonus Chapter  
**…**:::Because I Got High:::…  
****Afroman**

**Poll: For future reference, which day of the week would be a good day for a constant update?**

**Warning: There are several parts to this chapter. Make sure you read them all (with the exception of the final author's note at the bottom that you can skip over if you'd like to).**

_CLANG!_

_Clangclangclangclangclangclangclangclang!_

_BUNG!_

_Bungbungbungbungbungbungbung –_

"Mom, what the hell?!"

"Language, honey."

Uchiha Mikoto tried not to break out into a hysterical fit of laughter, trying to remain as stoic and as indifferent as her own sons, but she could not help it. She brought one hand up to her mouth as she began to giggle incessantly, doubling over when she could no longer hold her laughter in. The pot and wooden spoon she had just been banging together fell limply from her hands.

Sasuke?

Well, Sasuke was annoyed.

_Really_ annoyed.

He gave a long, uncharacteristic whine of "Mo_-om!"_ and shoved a nearby pillow over his head with such intensity, he could have possibly broken his nose. "I'd rather have the alarm clock! What were you thinking?!"

Mikoto straightened and brushed her hair from her face, holding up the pot and wooden spoon as she posed. "April Fools!"

Silence.

"It's November," Sasuke deadpanned.

Silence.

"Come on, honey. Breakfast is ready." Mikoto turned away, her smile still permanently plastered onto her face. "I'm leaving for work right now so I can get there early and help Anko set up some things in her new office."

Sasuke groaned in reply and buried his head deeper into his pillow, his boxer-clad body falling limply to the mattress with a soft _thud_. After a few moments of failed attempts at sleep, he became frustrated and had a wrestling match with his pillow for the bed.

The pillow eventually won when Sasuke realized that he could bruise, but it could not. Triumphantly, it was allowed to stay, content, on the mattress. Sasuke, the loser, was forced to slide sluggishly from his bed and fix his prosthetic leg into place.

Mornings.

He _hated_ mornings.

Sasuke had his shower, his shave, and his attempt at brushing his hair before he walked from the room clad simply in jeans and a dark polo shirt. Mikoto came rushing from her room. She pulled his head to her lips, kissed the top of his wet hair, and released him all in one swift movement.

"Goodbye, honey!"

And then Sasuke was left alone.

He supposed he couldn't consider himself alone, he thought as he sat at the dining table and pulled a plate of eggs close to him. He was simply the only other person in the house that was awake.

Yeah.

Not alone.

Sasuke liked it that way.

Content, he continued to pick at his eggs until there was nothing left of them. His life had fallen into a predictable routine ever since he had started his senior year at Konoha High, but there were always the antics he aroused that took him far from that routine and put his dramatic life back on track.

He sat in thought for a few more minutes, planning out his day briefly, before he hooked his backpack over one shoulder and started for the door.

"English homework, check," he whispered reflexively to himself. "Calculus homework, check. Psychology homework . . . psychology homework . . ."

Psychology homework.

Itachi had taken his psychology textbook the previous night for the anatomy section it held and had not returned it. Sasuke sighed lightly and dropped his bag. He hadn't wanted to disturb his brother, but Jiraiya (who was crazy enough to teach the seniors as well) would have his head if he did not hand in the essay that was slipped between the pages of the textbook.

The elder Uchiha's door was closed and for a moment, Sasuke worried that it was locked. His hand quietly turned the knob until a soft _chink_ was heard. He pushed open the door and began to practically tiptoe inside.

Itachi was asleep.

Sasuke smiled slightly to himself as he searched for the book. Itachi had worked out his schedules in college so that he no longer had to wake up at insane hours of the day. It had helped the elder Uchiha out immensely; no longer were there bags under his eyes, or a sallow tinge to his skin. His body had filled in after beginning to eat properly.

Sasuke stood over his brother for a few moments, watching him breathe in and out normally. A lengthened piece of hair was beginning to slip inside of his parted lips. Itachi's once shortened hair was now strewn over his face, and when he awoke in the mornings, he would tuck the stands back into a neat ponytail that reached a little past his shoulders.

His appearance wasn't the only thing that had begun to revert to its normal state. His room also began to bear a striking resemblance to the room he had once occupied back before they moved to Konoha. Painting after painting adorned the walls, each of them vibrant and beautiful.

He had taken his up his old hobby again over the summer and happy moment after happy feeling after happy memory washed over him. Not wanting to forget, he painted them, and now they were the only things he thought about when he entered his room. Sasuke knew his darker paintings, the ones with the depressing, somber emotions, were hidden away in his closet.

Sasuke forced his eyes away and they fell upon his psychology textbook placed neatly in the center of Itachi's desk. He quickly and quietly went to retrieve it. Colored sticky notes stuck out from the pages tidily, Itachi's neat, neat handwriting all over them. One of them was labeled _Little brother's essay_. Sasuke turned to the page and smirked.

Itachi must have been really bored to have labeled where Sasuke had hidden his essay.

Without another word, Sasuke closed the book and began to head out of the room, hoping the king of light sleeping wouldn't wake to the sound of his footsteps. He stepped from the room and took the elevator, having dawdled too long in search of his textbook.

Konoha was always quiet in the mornings. Sometimes Sasuke despised the stillness. The trees would not rustle their leaves. Cars barely passed. Even the birds had mastered the art of silence. But sometimes, Sasuke loved it.

He loved it because he could defy the silence.

A slim leg swung over the body of his bicycle. Slender hands grabbed the equally slender handle bars as a petite bottom situated itself on a bicycle seat. Sasuke had gotten a bicycle for his birthday in the summer and he had treated it as if it had been his newborn son. He would have given it a name, but he thought that would have been surpassing the boundaries of creepiness.

The Uchiha possessed a driver's license, but no car to use it on. He did not want to waste money on a second car for his own selfishness, and so Kakashi had taken a trip to the outskirts of town with Itachi to pick out the beauty that Sasuke sat on at that very moment.

And he loved it.

He began to propel his weight against the right pedal, lifting his left leg from the floor as he did so. Left, right, left, right, faster, faster, faster. He loved the silence and stillness of Konoha because he could defy it. In a single minute he was hitting top speeds, swerving past corners and cars in the street as he propelled his bicycle forwards.

The wind was forced to break its vow of silence. It whipped around Sasuke's face, warning him in a high-pitched whistle, telling him to slow down. But Sasuke didn't.

He loved to defy the silence.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

**#1 - Differences**

Did anyone notice that there were intentional differences between Itachi and Sasuke? I wanted to portray them as brothers with their own styles, and so I put in little hints here and there:

Whenever Itachi's handwriting is mentioned, the adjectives used to describe it always revolve around "neat", but whenever Sasuke's handwriting is mentioned, it always involves something around "messy scrawl".

Itachi calls his parents "Mother" and "Father", whereas Sasuke calls them "Mom" and "Dad".

Itachi speaks very formally; he doesn't use contractions in his speech at all. Sasuke, however, uses contractions like he uses his name and is not afraid to thrown in slang here or there.

The only exception to this is whenever Itachi is distressed, stressed, or not in the right state of mind. He will then begin to use contractions. Recall that in his cocaine frenzy, his speech was very casual, as it was when he was stressing over Sasuke throughout the story.

**.O.o.o**

"Uchiha!"  
Sasuke fastened his bicycle to the bicycle stands affront of the school and looked up at the call of his name. Kiba was waving to him from over by his new Volkswagen Beetle®.

Sasuke smirked, remembering. Kiba could have gotten almost any car he had wanted for his birthday. _Any_ car. So he had chosen a beaten up Beetle® which took him the entire summer to fix and paint. When asked why, he had two reasons:

One, so he could fix it himself, or call his friends over to help him. Indeed, Sasuke remembered sitting on the floor of Kiba's garage, his sleeves pulled to his elbows and his arms covered in grease as he worked away at the underside of the hellish piece of junk.

And two, so that Kiba could give anyone who rode in his car a punch. "Punch buggy!" he would say before turning around from the steering wheel and driving his fist into the unsuspecting passenger's shoulder. **[1]**

Sasuke had the bruise to prove it.

Kiba quickly caught up to him and the two fell into step as they walked to the doors of the school.

"Are you coming after school?" asked Sasuke, pushing open the doors.

He was somewhat surprised when Kiba shook his head. "Man, I wanted to again, but I'm picking up my dog from the vet." He looked sheepish all of a sudden, rubbing the back of his neck in a similar manner that reminded Sasuke a lot like someone. "There was a sandwich under my bed for a while. I didn't even know it was there until he ate it."

Sasuke stayed silent, listening. After a few more turns in the hall, Kiba parted for his locker and English class. Sasuke headed for his Calculus course, but not before he made a quick pit stop.

"Here."

He entered the Guidance Office and tossed a paper bag onto Kakashi's desk. The man looked up from his computer, slightly surprised. If there was one person who did not change his appearance in any way or form, it was Hatake Kakashi.

Gravity-defying silver hair?

Random mask covering half of his face for no reason?

Single visible eye heavily lidded?

All checked and accounted for.

Sasuke had to admit that he hadn't changed much in appearance, either. His hair had grown slightly longer, but it still retained the choppy spikes in the back. He had grown taller and his body was no longer bordering anorexia, but nothing else had changed. Sasuke liked it that way.

He sat down on his (he called it his; it wasn't like anyone else was using it) beanbag chair. From the way it automatically shaped his figure, Sasuke could tell it remembered him.

"Mom made some cookies for Kisame before he left overseas for a few months," he said. "We had a lot of leftovers, so we packed you some. I've got another bag for delivery in my locker."

"You didn't help her, did you?" asked Kakashi, raising an eyebrow. "I don't want to have to check for eggshells every time I take a bite."

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "You're such a horrible counselor."

"Hey, you're alive, aren't you?"

Kakashi had said it in a jokingly sarcastic tone, but Sasuke knew there was a hidden meaning to the sentence, intentional or not. He stood up when he heard the warning bell.

"Are you coming today?" he asked before he could leave.

"I'll be late. There's a so-called staff meeting after school." Kakashi opened the door for him. "It's one of those things where teachers just sit around and pretend they're getting something accomplished while they get free doughnuts and coffee."

"You call that slop coffee?"

"Hey, it's free."

Sasuke smirked and walked off to a rather lonely class of Calculus.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

**#2 - Loopholes**

Some of you have already addressed me about these loopholes, and I've found some more as I continued to write the story. How many of you thought some of the following were a bit suspicious?

_Why didn't Itachi just sell his paintings for money?_

Recall the following conversation from Chapter 7:

**Naruto:** _". . . Why doesn't he just _sell_ [his paintings] instead of working?"_

**Sasuke:** _"It's long, and it's complicated, and it's none of your business."_

Well, it turns out that it's not long, or complicated. As a matter of fact, I don't know _why_ Itachi didn't just sell his paintings. I had originally intended to come up with a good excuse along the way, and I had at one point tried to incorporate Orochimaru into it (before I decided he would become a prosthetic-obsessed kidnapper). I remember thinking about making him a long-time coworker of Itachi and Orochimaru threatened him never to make artwork ever again or else . . .

And that's about as far as I got.

Then I made Orochimaru the Orochimaru you know in this story, and this is where the loophole opened up.

Think about it this way: why didn't Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz just put her heels together three times and chant "There's no place like home" at the beginning of the movie?

Because the story would be too short!

Now apply this with Itachi.

_If the Uchihas were so famous, how could the downfall of the Uchiha Empire be kept under wraps for so long?_

Ah. The infamous question I have been asked by several reviewers. Originally, I had planned to have an explanation inside of the story, but I never found the perfect place for it.

And as a matter-of-fact, the explanation I thought up had several loopholes in it. This was another thing I thought about coming up with an explanation later and failed. Here is the failed explanation:

The Uchihas moved to Konoha. They weren't original residence, and their empire was far from Konoha. And so in such a reserved city, news did not travel so far.

I also thought of his weird conspiracy where Fugaku put an entire fortune into bribing the media against writing about anything concerning the empire . . .

. . . Yes. Failure at its greatest.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

Lunch time held a new meaning for Sasuke.

It meant actually entering a large room called a cafeteria and ordering something called lunch. He had vaguely remembered the concept from the tenth grade and managed to get through the process.

And so he sat at the table he could usually be seen sitting at, a frown on his face as he picked away at his spaghetti. Long ago had he grown accustomed to blocking the excessive noise coming from the other students that crowded the room.

"Something wrong?"

Sakura took a seat in front of him, bringing her tray to the table. Ino took a seat next to her and dug into her salad.

"The cafeteria food here is actually good compared to other schools, you know."

"Just thinking," he replied casually.

The group of friends he had kept was used to his random silences. It had shrunken in its size as Sasuke entered his senior year. Neji, Lee, TenTen, and Sai had graduated. Sasuke had frowned the day after the graduation, realizing that it meant growing up and parting their ways, and that eventually, he would have to do the same.

Sai went off to one of the most elite art schools in the country after having received a hefty scholarship. He came back to Konoha every other weekend, his monotonous humor always sorely missed.

Lee, perhaps, had gone off to do the most bizarre thing Sasuke had heard of so far: study with Shaolin monks. When asked why, he explained about wanting a deeper insight on something called chakra points and the study of the flow of chakra.

Sasuke simply nodded his head and raised one eyebrow. At least Lee was happy. The eccentric boy promised to come visit during his vacations (Gai had broken down in tears and cried about how his youth would be lost if he didn't). Sasuke vaguely wondered if he had shaved his head yet.

Neji surprised Sasuke with his decision to go off to college close by despite his incredible grades. He, to Sasuke's amusement, applied and was accepted into Firenial. Itachi had him in an anatomy course.

When Sasuke asked why he had done so during a hangout at the Chalk O' Lit Café, Neji said he had no interest in traveling abroad for his studies.

"Whatever I can do there, I can do here with the benefit of acquaintances and friends," he said.

He had also wanted to annoy the hell out of his uncle for not entering a top college.

TenTen went right along with him, staying in favor of her boyfriend and her foster home. She and Neji occupied a share house with three other people Sasuke had yet to be acquainted with.

"Are you guys coming today?" asked Sasuke as he turned to Sakura and Ino.

Shikamaru and Chouji set their trays down simultaneously, one on either side of the Uchiha, as they listened to the conversation taking place. Sakura and Ino shook their heads.

"My dad needs me at the store today," said Ino. "He said we have a full list of orders to get done."

"She pulled me in to help out," Sakura said with a mock grimace. "We'll be over as soon as we're done, but it'll probably take a while."

"I promised my dad a while ago that I'd go with him to the farm to help him get some deer antlers. So troublesome."

"Dad. Store. Stocks," Chouji managed from behind his bag of chips.

Sasuke sighed at the inconvenience. It seemed on that single day, everyone had something to do. He didn't blame them; he, too, had work, but his would simply last for two hours before he would be free to do as he pleased.

"Hinata," he said, looking over Sakura's shoulder at the girl advancing with Kiba and Shino. "Please tell me you're free today."

The girl looked down and blushed, shaking her head.

"I'm really, really sorry, but my uncle wants me in the house today."

Sigh. "Shino?"

"I am to handle an infestation of bugs at the neighbor's house."

Sasuke didn't dare ask for an elaboration. He sighed again, putting one elbow on the table so that he could rest his cheek on his hand.

"It looks like I'm all alone today."

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

**#3 - Concepts and Fun Facts**

The Sound 5 were never supposed to play such an important role in the story, nor were they supposed to be "good" – they were originally supposed to battle it out against a rival gang (Akatsuki)

Akatsuki members were supposed to make appearances as classmates

Kimimaro was supposed to live

I thought about killing off Mikoto at some times, but I thought that would be too unrealistic (and I really, really liked her)

Kushina, Naruto's mother, died giving birth to Naruto. I was trying to find a right spot to put this information into the story, but alas, I could not

Originally, I had written this story for the sake of simply wanting to torture Sasuke, but then I just got _so into it_ and _so attached _that I made it my pride and joy.

The concept of Falling Up to Heaven was taken from a similar title somewhere in the world (I don't remember where I had seen it, sadly), and I thought about the words and came up with the concept. It was supposed to play a different role than with Kimimaro, but I hadn't finished the story and hadn't thought it through entirely, but I'm glad I put it the way I did.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

"Yes, sir."

"And Sasuke? A new box of books just came. Alphabetize them, please."

"Yes, sir."

"I'll be going out for a few moments. Take care of the shop while I'm gone."

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you, Sasuke."

Sasuke watched his elderly boss leave the bookstore, the soft chimes (he had suggested installing them there) overhead mingling together in reply. He turned around and stared at the latest box of books to come and immediately began ripping the tape from its sides.

The bookstore had just recently opened in the marketplace and had asked for three employees. Sasuke quickly seized the opportunity and had instantly been favored, getting the job and time slot of two hours every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. He was especially happy because of the discount he received on the new books, and the free, elderly books he could bring home.

And sorting out the books and boxes built up his arm muscles, so he wasn't complaining.

When the books were sorted on their shelves, the box was folded and recycled, and Sasuke was dusting in the back, his boss returned. The dumpy old man placed several bags on his office desk and handed one to Sasuke.

"Courtesy of Izumo and Kotetsu," he said, smiling an almost toothless grin. "They stopped me as I walked by and told me to give this to you."

Sasuke smirked, automatically knowing a cream cheese bagel was cradled in the depths of the paper bag. He bowed his head slightly in thanks as he took the bag.

"All of the books are out and alphabetized, the shelves in the back have been dusted, and two customers came in and left with two books each." He paused, biting his lip as he stared at the ceiling. "The first man paid eighteen dollars and fifty cents for two paperback books. The other originally paid –"

His boss held up a hand, chuckling slightly.

"Who needs a computer when I have Uchiha Sasuke?" he said teasingly. "You have a gift, son, yet you chose to work in a bookstore?"

"It was either this or the strip club downtown," said Sasuke, only half joking. "I've still got the Chalk O' Lit Café to play at, and it's not like I want a full-time job in the first place."

He just needed something to prevent his mother from taking another shift at her job and his brother from taking up another job entirely.

"I'll tell you what," said the man, leaning in slightly. "It's the slow hour at the moment, and you've done so much work already. I know you've got a certain place that you are simply itching to go to, so I'll let you off early."

Sasuke shook his head. "Sir, I still have thirty-three minutes to complete –"

"You're burning daylight, sonny!"

Sasuke jumped slightly and immediately ran to reach for his coat. "Thank you, sir," he said as he pulled one of his arms through. "Thank you so much, sir."

"Burning daylight!"

And off on his bicycle Sasuke went.

He had two destinations in mind. The first was the supermarket nearby. He quickly jumped from his bicycle and leaned it against the nearest wall, too lazy to place the kickstand in position. Moments later, he returned with a bag bulging from two tubs of ice cream.

He shuddered.

He hated sweets.

His other destination could be seen just over the hills. There was no bicycle stand available and so he simply fastened his bicycle to the railway of the stairs like he had done ritually in the past few days.

The doors opened up for him slowly, as if tired of welcoming him so often.

_"Here comes Uchiha Sasuke,"_ the left part of the door said as it slid.

_"That boy needs a life,"_ the right side said before it disappeared.

Sasuke did not speak Door.

"Hey, Shizune."

"Sasuke!" the woman behind the counter exclaimed brightly. "You're a little early today."

Sasuke held the bag in his hands up and fished for another bag inside of his backpack. "I brought ice cream and cookies, if that's okay."

"That's better than okay. Same room as always."

The Uchiha nodded out of respect and turned to follow through with the temporary ritual he had entered. The hospital did not know the meaning of silence. There was always a beep, or a scream of pain, or a random little boy asking his mother if his shots would hurt. It was the only place Sasuke could never successfully block out all noise.

_"On . . . moon . . . light . . . ba-a-ay!"_

Sasuke winced.

He knew that voice.

It was a hoarse, cracking voice, poorly tuned and seemingly tone deaf. Sasuke knew otherwise. He slid open the door of his destination to reveal the insides of a private room. In the midst of it was a bed, and in the midst of the bed was a blond.

Naruto.

At the sound of the sliding door, the harsh singing had stopped. Naruto had turned towards Sasuke with a goofy grin plastered onto his face.

"Baby! You've come back for me!" the blond slurred, his arms outstretched.

Sasuke closed the door behind him and advanced cautiously. He stood at the foot of the whiskered boy's bed with a raised eyebrow and an amused smirk.

"Sedatives?"

"Se-da-tives!" agreed Naruto, emphasizing every syllable. His mood suddenly changed and he grumbled darkly. "I feel like _cra-a-ap!"_

Sasuke ignored the usual whines from the boy and moved to the desk at his side, taking out the tubs of ice cream. There was already a bowl and spoon present in the room and so he used them to scoop the two flavors of ice cream together, taking a cookie from the other bag he had brought and crumbling it as a topping.

Naruto had been in the hospital for several days. He had had a respiratory infection, sending the boy's asthma into fatal conditions and leaving him with a high fever and gelatinous limbs. As if the infection had been bad enough, the poor boy's tonsils were to be removed. It was hard for Sasuke not to take pity on him.

"Here," the Uchiha said, shoving the bowl of ice cream and the spoon into Naruto's hands. "It's good for you."

Naruto smiled drunkenly. "Is this dramatic enough for you?" he joked, recalling the times Sasuke had told him about the lessened drama in his life.

"Very," the Uchiha said dryly. "Now don't do it again."

He sat in silence for a while, picking at the threads of a neon orange bracelet he wore on his left hand. Itachi had gone and bought a neon orange Fedora hat to match his neon orange bowl hat and so orange-loving Mikoto begged Sasuke to get something orange as well.

Still not as daring as his brother, Sasuke tried for something more subtle. Naruto and Kiba whisked him away one day and brought him to a body piercing shop.

"This is your idea of subtle?" Sasuke had said bitingly, watching as a man left the store with surface piercings lining his collarbone.

"Relax, Uchiha. You'll just pierce your left ear and we'll put in a neon-orange earring! That's subtle, right?"

Kiba had slung one arm across Sasuke's shoulders and escorted him inside. A little rubbing alcohol, a second's time from the needle gun, and Sasuke emerged with a reddening ear and a new orange earring. Naruto commented on how cool it made Sasuke look. Kiba commented on how much it would hurt for a while.

Not even a week later, the piercing was infected.

Sasuke had taken painkillers for an entire week, unable to sleep at night with the throbbing ache of the infection. The piercing closed, and when his ear had healed and Kiba had suggested getting his ear pierced again, Sasuke had punched him in the shoulder and walked away.

So Naruto and Mikoto got together and made a simple bracelet.

Much less painful than the piercing.

"You suck, you know that?" Sasuke said to Naruto.

"Why the sudden revelation?" the blond asked with a grin nonetheless.

"Because you're in the hospital."

_Because you scared everyone to an inch of their lives when you couldn't breathe that one time in Psychology. Because you had us worried when you wouldn't wake up from that fever of yours. Because you wouldn't stop moaning in pain and we couldn't stop hoping it would end._

"Hey!" exclaimed Naruto, licking the vanilla ice cream from his upper lip. "Remember when you were sick with influenza in the hospital! You had everybody totally freaking out! Now it's my turn."

Sasuke silenced once more.

He had a settled lifestyle, he thought: a senior with a part-time job and flawless grades, and a life ahead of him. But there was always the dramatic side to it. Naruto constantly kept him alert, and the two of them hand ended up in the hospital on more occasions than they would like to count.

Sasuke wasn't entirely innocent, either. There were still the odd nights where he would wake up in cold sweat, either screaming or breathing heavily, his trauma washing over him forcefully. The memories were still there and they surfaced on rare occasions. Kakashi was always open for a quick therapy session and then it was back to his settled lifestyle.

Sasuke broke from his thoughts and turned to look at the gifts that adorned Naruto's desk. He spotted the random, uneaten, cream-filled and chocolate-covered doughnut sitting harmlessly on the surface. The card that had come with it was still fresh in his memory.

_You're a doughnut: sugary-sweet on the outside, and soft and mushy on the inside. When they cut you up, your innards come out!_

_Love, Sai._

They had needed to inject Naruto with a stronger sedative after reading the card so that he could go through the tonsil operation in peace.

"Hey, stop zoning out. You're here to make me feel better."

Sasuke turned to find Naruto's eyes closing, the boy's head tipping back.

"Who's the one zoning out?" he commented amusedly, poking the blond harshly in the ribs. "If you want some sleep, I'll leave –"

"Don't leave me-e-e!" Naruto suddenly cried hoarsely, reaching out in his sedative-induced daze and grabbing hold of Sasuke's arm. "They drugged me up, Sasuke! They want me out cold so they can take me to the back and –"

Sasuke ever-so-gently unlatched Naruto's free hand from his arm, watching it flop back into his lap before it was redirected to the bowl of ice cream.

"No one wants to sever your head from your body and use it as a soccer ball, Naruto."

Naruto had come up with several clever stories in his incapacitated state as to why he had been so heavily sedated. He suddenly switched moods again, all drunken glory gone from his body. He held out the bowl of ice cream for Sasuke to hold before he curled into a loosened fetal position.

"I feel horrible," he said miserably, his mood changing again. "I want to go _home_."

Sasuke thought Naruto could cry then and there.

Awkwardly, Sasuke put a hand to Naruto's back and rubbed in short circles. Despite being in many awkward situations before, Sasuke still could never enhance his comforting skills. Naruto buried his head into his pillow.

"Take me home, Sasuke," he said, his hoarse voice barely audible. "Please?"

"I can't, Naruto."

Naruto suddenly broke out in a tune that made flowers wilt and balloons deflate. "I want to go ho-o-ome, go ho-ome . . ."

"Do you always break out into song when you're hopped up on painkillers? You're like live musical."

Naruto grinned, his face still shoved into his pillow. "Just wait until I can legally drink."

Sasuke knew that if he thought about all the endless possibilities of antics a drunken Naruto could possibly get into, he would get a migraine that would need ten painkillers to suppress. He, instead, sat in silence and watched as Naruto's grin slowly began to fade, the blonde's face loosening into a neutral expression. In a matter of minutes, he was asleep.

The younger Uchiha stayed in the hospital despite his only company drifting into another world. He didn't mind; he had stayed in the same position on several occasions before. There was even a routine he had created for himself.

He pointed to the door suddenly, counting down in his mind. The second he reached the end of his countdown, the door slid open, and in came Tsunade. She grinned at him.

"You're like a stalking boyfriend," she told him.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "No, _Sai_ is the creepy-stalker type. I'm the bored-out-of-his-mind-with-nothing-to-do-until-his-brother-gets-here type who just happened to have some leftover cookies and a little extra spare change for ice cream."

"Just admit that you care too much and move on with your life."

Tsunade flicked Sasuke on his ear – the same one that had previously been infected – as she rounded the bed to check up on her grandson. She gingerly turned him over so that his face no longer kissed the pillow and checked his breathing.

"You bored him to sleep with that monotonous voice of yours, Uchiha," she teased.

"He went to sleep to save himself the trouble of having to deal with you," Sasuke bit right back, an arrogant smirk making its way into his expression.

Tsunade narrowed her eyes. "That tub of ice cream would look pretty good dripping off of your head."

"Your reputation in this town looks pretty good, too, but that can change."

Their traditional staring contest went into play. Eyes narrowed, faces set into their own expressions (Sasuke's, a pompous smirk; Tsunade's, a serious sneer), they battled it out for several minutes until finally, Tsunade caved.

"I've got a hospital to run," she said, smirking and leaving with another flick of his ear.

Sasuke's own smirk began to fade as he started to drift away into his personal sleep. With a senior's load of schoolwork, his own work after school, and staying by Naruto's bedside, he had gotten used to random naps in the day. Itachi had called him narcoleptic. Sasuke had replied with a single finger.

"Hey, Mr. Narcoleptic."

Itachi.

Sasuke awoke immediately, not even bothering to rub his eyes as he stared into the dark orbs of his brother. Itachi smirked and pushed his shoulder lightly. The younger Uchiha had fallen asleep against Naruto's bed; the blond was now awake with a new bowl of ice cream in his hands.

"Why are you back early from college?" asked Sasuke.

"Back early? Sasuke, it's seven o'clock." Itachi ruffled his hair simply to annoy him. "Someone needs to stop his nasty habits of napping in the day and staying up all night."

"Gee," Sasuke replied dryly. "I wonder who that could possibly be."

Itachi stood up, patting his knees as he did so. He walked to the nearby desk. Sasuke was somewhat surprised to see the presence of Kakashi in the corner of the room. The man turned to stare at him, smiled suddenly, and waved.

"I'm here for the movie," he said.

"What movie?"

"Itachi brought a movie to watch!" exclaimed Naruto, raising a spoon-bearing fist for emphasis. "And more ice cream!"

_Great. An overly hyper Naruto. More than usual, anyway._

"Why the sudden act of kindness, brother?" teased Sasuke.

Itachi shrugged, taking out the DVD from its case and placing it in its respective slot by the television in the room. "Neji told me to give it to Naruto as his get well gift since he could not personally be here to give it to him," he said. "And since mother has volunteered to pick us up today, we shall sit and watch the movie together until she arrives."

Sasuke had been about to ask which movie they were going to watch before the title came up on the screen. He groaned.

Ninja Frogs.

The _sequel_.

Both Naruto and Kakashi put their hands together and clapped.

"Kill me now," Sasuke said into his hands.

Itachi smirked evilly. "Just wait until the ninja frogs meet the ninja slugs."

Sasuke groaned.

Again.

An hour later, Sasuke was completely absorbed into the movie. He was gawking at the screen, his mouth hung open as his eyes hungrily took in the scenes. Naruto, directly at his side, was mindlessly shoving spoon after spoon of ice cream into his mouth.

_"But wait! Don't go!"_

_"I can't stay. My country needs me."_

"Don't go, Daisuke! Don't go!" Kakashi called out to the screen, extending one arm.

"The general lied to you! Stay with her!" Naruto called in a similar manner.

Sasuke nodded his head in noiseless agreement. Itachi crossed his legs for the umpteenth time and gave a heaving sigh, shaking his head in his hands.

"Boys?"

The door suddenly slid open, pouring light into the intentionally darkened room. Mikoto stood in the frame. She cast a confused glance around the room and then sent a questioning stare in the direction of Itachi, who had been the only occupant of the room to take notice of her. Everyone else was too absorbed in the movie.

"This is the best part!" Naruto suddenly exclaimed, hitting Sasuke's arm repeatedly in his excitement.

"Mother, please tell me you have come to stop this nonsense," Itachi practically begged.

"Nonsense? Is this Ninja Frogs?"

"The sequel!" Kakashi called.

Mikoto suddenly squealed in delight and ran inside, closing the door sharply behind her. Itachi groaned and sat back down. Sasuke shushed him.

"Raise the volume!" cried Mikoto. She rushed to the television. "Where's the volume button? Oh, I can't see a darn thing in this dark . . .! Is this it?"

Three pairs of eyes suddenly widened in horror. One pair opened in evil glee.

"Mom –"

"Mrs. Uchiha –"

"Mikoto –"

"– Don't touch that but–"

_Shshshshshshshshshshshshshshsh._

Signal lost.

…**:::End Bonus:::…**

**----------------------**

**[1] Punch buggy:** For those of you who aren't familiar with it, it's a real game. Whenever you're in a car and driving down a busy street, keep your eyes peeled for a Volkswagen Beetle. When you spot it, randomly shout "Punch buggy!" and punch the nearest person. Fun for you. Painful for him.

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

**#4 - Upcoming Story Information**

Many of you have asked if and when I would make another story.

Well, I am not planning on leaving FanFiction for a long, long time from now (perhaps never). And I _do_ have a story.

It's not a deep story like this. It's more of one for pure entertainment purposes, already planned out, with exactly eight chapters. The plot is original and I'll write it like I wrote this story, btu without all the hardcore emotions, etc. It's for fun. I'll be writing it over the remainder of my summer and putting it up on before the new year.

I've also got a bunch of one-shot ideas stored up that I'll be randomly putting up (all original, don't worry).

Writing, however, will be much harder from now on due to a severe lack of free time now that I am entering IB. I will try my best to get more chaptered stories!

**o.o.O.O.o.o**

**#5 - Short Story  
**…**:::How Itachi met Kisame:::…**

Kisame was an active vegan.

At eleven years old, he was already putting together protests and ads all over the town, going out on himself to picket fast food restaurants. Konoha Fried Chicken was always his main subject of protest.

Itachi hated Konoha Fried Chicken.

Ever since he had found a chicken nugget in his kid's meal that resembled a chicken's head, he had a loathing for the restaurant and decided that chickens had lives too, damn it!

And so, at the tender age of ten, he organized his own little protest against it. The only problem was that no one else would join his protest. Konoha Fried Chicken was too popular of an area. Their food was just _too good_.

But Itachi, mustering up his pride and his hate, marched right in front of his local restaurant with a picket sign in his hands and a nonsensical chant.

And was ignored.

"Sir, did you know that Konoha Fried Chicken slaughters about –?"

"Let's go with two buckets of chicken, honey."

"Ma'am, every year, Konoha Fried Chicken takes about –"

"Ooh, I'll have that one extra spicy."

Itachi felt a familiar feeling of dejection as he walked from the restaurant, his picket sign limply at his side. Someone suddenly touched his shoulder and pulled him out into the cool night air.

"Is that a picket sign?"

The person that had pulled him out was a young boy, slightly taller than he was with an odd, bluish tone to his skin and sharp teeth – a usual sign of a pure vegan. He was grinning.

Itachi nodded his head, holding it up.

"Konoha Fried Chicken needs to burn in H-E-double toothpicks."

The bluish boy held up his own picket sign in return. There was a dramatic pause where Itachi looked to the boy, the boy looked to Itachi, and then the two of them dove into a language known only to a select few, obsessive vegetarians.

"Ovo?" asked the boy after a bit of random conversation. "Lacto? Flexit?"

"Not even close. I cannot become a complete vegetarian. I simply want animal cruelty to halt."

"I like where you're going, kid. Put her there. Hoshigake Kisame, at your very service."

Itachi took the hand extended to him and shook it firmly.

"Uchiha Itachi."

Kisame slung a hand around Itachi's shoulder suddenly and led him away.

"Itachi," he said. "Let's go take over the world."

"Or we can try."

**o.o.:: Official End ::.o.o**

**#6 - The Final Author's Note:  
**So this is it, huh. It feels weird. Now, I don't feel so occupied anymore. I'm not going to stay up all night working on this story anymore, and you can think I'm lying, but that really makes me feel kind of empty inside. It's a bit depressing.

I have never put so much time and effort into a story. I've got so many ideas that I wanted to try, ideas that are piling up on my desk and in documents on my laptop, but I chose this one, and I loved it, and I loved the fact that I had so much support.

Okay, this will be utterly cliche, but as an author that can finally experience the feeling, I found out that it's true: it's all about the readers.

Stop laughing, it is!

When I started to post this story up on , I had only thirteen chapters down! Now I'm on my thirty-first! Do you honestly think I thought up the rest of the chapters every week without the slightest bit of help?! Heeeeeeeeeeell no! You guys all had these cool ideas, and even if I didn't use them, they led me to think, "Hm . . . what would be the reaction if I did this . . ."

Have you guys read the Fun Facts? Do you know why those didn't make it to the story? Because you guys gave so much support and reviews to this thing that I started thinking about _your_ reactions instead of just the plans in my head.

So thanks. A lot. I'd say something cliche again like "There's no possible way for me to say thank you enough", but my thank you present is this story. For your reviews, I gave you my pride and joy.

Some of you have suggested getting this story published, and I assure you, I've thought about that, but I'm leaning towards a no. I mean, I could always create new characters, right? And tweak things here and there, take out some parts, put some other parts in . . . But would you really feel the same about that new novel?

Heck no!

I mean, you guys _know_ Sasuke, Naruto, Itachi, Kakashi - everyone! You already knew their personalities! The challenge and fun of this story was trying to match those personalities and keep them in check! If I created new characters, you just wouldn't _feel_ them, you know? You wouldn't be as sympathetic for a flawless Uchiha if he was breaking down, for one. I mean, as an author, you're supposed to make your own characters and make people feel for them, and maybe I'll publish a similar story or something, but . . . just, no.

Besides, I want a new challenge! =D I'll make my own characters to sympathize with.

Thank you. Again. And if you want a better thank you, reread this story. I started this story in January of last year, and it has been my top priority ever since. This its end, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Peace,  
R.G. Waffles


End file.
